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i Jk 



“ ‘ Toinette! ’ I whispered, ‘ I would call you by a dearer 
name than that!’” [Page 386] 




WHEN 

WILDERNESS 
WAS KING 

A Tale of the Illinois Country 

By 

RANDALL PARRISH 

WUh six pictures in full color and other decora- 
tions by Troy and Margaret West Kinney 



Second Edition 

Chicago 

A. C. McClurg & Co. 

1904 







3 


Copyright 

By A. C. McClurg & Co. 

1904 

Published March 26, 1904 
Second Edition, April 20, 1904 


Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London 
All Rights Reserved 



0 • 


University Press • John Wilson 
and Son • Cambridge, U. S. A. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. A Message from^.the West i 

IL The Call of Duty g 

III. A New Acquaintance ig 

IV. Captain Wells of Fort Wayne 33 

V. Through the Heart of the Forest 41 

VI. From) the Jaws of Death 54 

VII. A Circle in the Sand 66 

VIII. Two Men and a Maid 77 ^ 

IX. In Sight of the Flag 86 

X. A Lane of Peril g5 

XI. Old Fort Dearborn 105 

XII. The Heart of a Woman iig 

XIII. A Wager of Fools 133 

XIV. Darkness and Surprise 141 

XV. An Adventure Underground .150 

XVI. “France wins, Monsieur!" 161 

XVII. A Contest of Wits 171 

XVIII. Glimpses of Danger 182 

XIX. A Conference and a Resolve igi 

XX. In the Indian Camp 201 


5 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

XXI. A Council of Chiefs 212 

XXII. The Last Night at Dearborn 224 

XXIII. The Death-Shadow of the Miamis *236 

XXIV. The Day of Doom 248 

XXV. In the Jaws of the Tiger 261 

XXVI. The Field of the Dead 269 

XXVII. A Ghostly Vision 278 

XXVIII. An Angel in the Wilderness 292 

XXIXi A Soldier of France 306 

XXX. The Rescue at the Stake 314 

XXXI. A Search, and its Reward 325 

XXXII. The Pledge of a Wyandot 337 

XXXIII. An Intervention of Fate 347 

XXXIV. A Stumble in the Dark 358 

XXXV. The Battle on the Shore 368 

XXXVI. In the New Gray Dawn 378 


6 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


“ ‘ Toinette ! ' I whispered, ‘ I would call you by a 
dearer name than that ! ’ ” 

“ The obsequious darkey was deliberately combing 
out his long hair ” 

“ There was a rustle of paper, and Heald read 
slowly : ‘ Evacuate the post if practicable ’ ” 

“ She had reined her horse back against a wheel 
of the halted wagon ” 

“ ‘ You shall not torture this man — he is a soldier 
of France ! ’ ” 

“ ‘ Don’t, John ! The savage has a gun hidden 
beneath his robe * ” 


Frontispiece 

Facing page 56 

„ 192 

„ 268 

» 313 

» 338 



“ T SAW a dot upon the map, and a housefly’s filmy wing — 

They said ’t was Dearborn’s picket-flag, when Wilderness 
was King. 


I heard the block*-house gates unbar, the column’s solemn tread, 

I saw the Tree of a single leaf its splendid foliage shed 
To wave awhile that August morn above the column’s head ; 

I heard the moan of muffled drum, the woman’s wail of fife, 

The Dead March played for Dearborn’s men just marching out of 
lifej 

The swooping of the savage cloud that burst upon the rank 
And struck it with its thunderbolt in forehead and in flank, 

The spatter of the musket-shot, the rifles’ whistling rain, — 

The sandhills drift round hope forlorn that never marched again.” 

— Benjamin F. Taylor. 



When Wilderness 
Was King 


CHAPTER I 

A MESSAGE FROM THE WEST 

URELY it was no longer 
ago than yesterday. I had 
left the scythe lying at the 
edge of the long grass, and 
gone up through the rows 
of nodding Indian corn to 
the house, seeking a draught 
of cool water from the 
spring. It was hot in the 
July sunshine; the thick forest on every side inter- 
cepted the breeze, and I had been at work for some 
hours. How pleasant and inviting the little river 
looked in the shade of the great trees, while, as I 
paused a moment bending over the high bank, I could 
see a lazy pike nosing about among the twisted roots 
below. 



X 


1 



WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


My mother, her sleeves rolled high over her round 
white arms, was in the dark interior of the milk-house 
as I passed, and spoke to me laughingly; and I could 
perceive my father sitting in his great splint-bottomed 
chair just within the front doorway, and I marked 
how the slight current of air toyed with his long gray 
beard. The old Bible lay wide open upon his knee; 
yet his eyes were resting upon the dark green of the 
woods that skirted our clearing. I wondered, as I 
quaffed the cool sweet water at the spring, if he was 
dreaming again of those old days when he had been a 
man among men. How distinct in each detail the 
memory of it remains! The blue sky held but one 
fleecy white cloud in all its wide arch; it seemed as if 
the curling film of smoke rising from our chimney had 
but gathered there and hung suspended to render the 
azure more pronounced. A robin peeked impudently 
at me from an oak limb, and a roguish gray squirrel 
chattered along the low ridge-pole, with seeming will- 
ingness to make friends, until Rover, suddenly spying 
me, sprang hastily around the comer of the house to 
lick my hand, with glad barkings and a frantic effort 
to wave the stub of his poor old tail. It was suc4i a 
homely, quiet scene, there in the heart of the back- 
woods, one I had known unchanged so long, that I 
little dreamed it was soon to witness the turning over 
of a page of destiny in my life, that almost from 
that hour I was to sever every relation of the past. 


2 


A MESSAGE FROM THE WEST 

and be sent forth to buffet with the rough world 
alone. 

There were no roads, in those days, along that 
valley of the upper Maumee, — merely faint bridle- 
paths, following ancient Indian trails through dense 
woods or across narrow strips of prairie land; yet as 
I hung the gourd back on its wooden peg, and lifted 
my eyes carelessly to the northward, I saw a horseman 
riding slowly toward the house along the river bank. 
There were flying rumors of coming Indian outbreaks 
along the fringe of border settlements ; but my young 
eyes were keen, and after the first quick thrill of sus- 
picion I knew the approaching stranger to be of white 
blood, although his apparel was scarcely less unciv- 
ilized than that of the savage. Yet so unusual were 
visitors, that I grasped a gun from its pegs in the 
kitchen, and called wamingly to my mother as I 
passed on to meet the new-comer. 

He wa^ a very large and powerful man, with a 
matted black beard and an extremely prominent nose. 
A long rifle was slimg at his back, and the heavy bay 
horse he bestrode bore unmistakable signs of hard 
travelling. As he approached, Rover, spying him, 
sprang out savagely; but I caught and held him 
with firm grip, for to strangers he was ever a surly 
brute. 

“ Is this yere Major Wayland’s place? ’’ the man 
questioned, in a deep, gruff voice, reining in his tired 

3 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


horse, and carelessly flinging one booted foot across 
the animars neck as he faced me. 

“ Yes,” I responded with caution, for we were 
somewhat suspicious of stray travellers in those days, 
and the man’s features were not pleasing. ‘‘ The 
Major lives here, and I am his son.” 

He looked at me intently, some curiosity apparent 
in his eyes, as he deliberately drew a folded paper 
from his belt. 

“ No? Be ye the lad what downed Bud Eberly 
at the meetin’ over on the Cow-skin las’ spring ? ” he 
questioned, with faintly aroused interest. 

I blushed like a school-girl, for this unexpected 
reference was not wholly to my liking, though the 
man’s intentions were evidently most kind. 

“ He bullied me until I could take no more,” I 
answered, doubtfully ; ‘‘ yet I hurt him more seriously 
than I meant.” 

He laughed at the trace of apology in my words. 

** Lord ! ” he ejaculated, “ don’t ever let that worry 
ye, boy. The hull settlement is mighty glad ’twas 
done. Old Hawkins bin on the p’int o’ doin’ it him- 
self a dozen o’ times. Told me so. Ye’re quite a 
lad, ain’t ye? Weigh all o’ hundred an’ seventy, I ’ll 
bet; an’ strong as an ox. How old be ye, anyhow? ” 

‘‘Twenty,” I answered, not a little mollified by 
his manner. “You must live near here, then?” 

“ Wal, no, but been sorter neighbor o’ yourn fer 
4 


A MESSAGE FROM THE WEST 


a month er so back; stoppin’ up at Hawkins’s she- 
bang, at the ford, on the Military Road, visitin’; but 
guess I never met up with none o’ your folks afore. 
My name ’s Bums, Ol’ Tom Burns, late o’ Connecti- 
cut. A sojer from out West left this yere letter 
fer yer father at Hawkins’s place more nor a week 
ago. Said as how it was mighty important; but 
blamed if this was n’t the fust chance he ’s hed to git 
it over yere sence. I told him I ’d fetch it, as it was n’t 
more nor a dozen miles er so outer my way.” 

He held out a square paper packet; and while I 
turned it over curiously in my hand, — the first letter 
I had ever seen, — he took some loose tobacco from an 
outside pocket and proceeded leisurely to fill his pipe. 

My mother rolled my father’s chair forward into 
the open doorway, and stood close behind him, as was 
her custom, one arm resting lightly upon the quaintly 
carved chair-back. 

“What is it, John?” she questioned gently. In- 
stantly aroused by her voice, I crossed quickly over 
and placed the packet in my father’s thin hands. He 
turned it over twice before he opened it, looking at 
the odd seal, and reading the superscription carefully 
aloud, as if fearful there might be some mistake : 

“ Major David Wayland, 

Along the Upper Maumee. 

Leave at Hawkins Ford 
** Important. on Military Road.” 

5 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


I can see him yet as he read it, slowly feeling 
his way through the rude, uneven writing, with my 
mother leaning over his shoulder and helping him, 
her rosy cheeks and dark tresses making strange con- 
trast beside his pain-racked features and iron-gray 
hair. ' 

“ Read it aloud, Mary,” he said at last. “ I shall 
understand it better. ’T is from Roger Matherson, 
of whom you have heard me speak.” 

My mother was a good scholar, and she read 
clearly, only hesitating now and then over some ill- 
written or misspelled word. 

At Fort dearborn, near the head of the 
Great Lake. Twelfth June, 1812. 

My dear old Friend: 

I have come to the end of life ; they tell 
me it will be all over by the morrow, and there remains but one 
thing that greatly troubles me — my little girl, my Elsa. You 
know I have never much feared death, nor do I in this hour when 
I face it once more ; for I have ever tried to honor God and do my 
duty as both man and soldier. David, I can scarcely write, for 
my mind wanders strangely, and my fingers will but barely grasp 
the pen. ’T is not the grip of the old sword-hand you knew so 
well, for I am already very weak, and dying. But do you yet 
remember the day I drew you out of the rout at Saratoga, and 
bore you away safely, though the Hessians shot me twice ? God 
knows, old friend, I never thought to remind you of the act, — 
^t was no more than any comrade would have done, — yet I am 
here among strangers, and there is no one else living to whom I 
may turn in my need. David, in memory of it, will you not give 
my little orphan child a home ? Your old comrade, upon his 
death-bed, begs this of you with his final breath. She is all 
alone here, save for me, and there is no blood kin in all the world 

6 


A MESSAGE FROM THE WEST 


to whom I may appeal. I shall leave some property, but not 
much. As you love your own, I pray you be merciful in this hour 
to my little girl. 

Your old comrade, 

ROGER MATHERSON. 

This had been endorsed by another and bolder 
hand ; 

Captain Roger Matherson, late of the Massachusetts Conti- 
nental Line, died at this fort, of fever, fourteenth June, 1812. His 
daughter is being cared for by the ladies of the garrison. 

Nathan Heald, 

Capt. First Regt. Inf., Commanding. 


The tears were clinging to my mother’s long 
lashes as she finished the reading; she was ever 
tender of heart and sympathetic with sorrow. My 
father sat in silence, looking far off at the green 
woods. Presently he took the paper again into his 
hands, folded it carefully in the old creases, and placed 
it safely away between the Bible leaves. I saw my 
mother’s fingers steal along the arm of the chair until 
they closed softly over his. 

“ The poor little lamb ! ” she said gently. 

My father’s old sword hung over the fireplace, 
and I saw his glance wander toward it, as something 
seemed to rise choking in his throat. He was always a 
man who felt deeply, yet said but little ; and we both 
knew he was thinking about the old days and the 
strong ties of comradeship. 

The stranger struck flint and steel to light his 

7 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


pipe; the act instantly recalled my father to the 
demands of hospitality. 

** Friend,” he said, speaking firmly, ** hitch to the 
stump yonder, and come in. You have brought me 
sad news enough, yet are no less welcome, and must 
break bread at our board. John,” and he turned 
toward me, “ see to friend Bums’s horse, and help 
your mother to prepare the dinner.” 

Out in the rude shed, which answered as a kitchen 
during summer weather, I ventured to ask: 

“ Mother, do you suppose he will take the little 
girl? ” 

“I hope so, John,” she answered, soberly; “but 
your father must decide himself. He will not tell us 
until he has thought it all out alone.” 


8 


CHAPTER II 


THE CALL OF DUTY 

T was Upon my mind all 
through that long afternoon, 
as I swung the scythe in 
the meadow grass. I saw 
Burns ride away up the 
river trail soon after I re- 
turned to work, and won- 
dered if he bore with him 
any message from my father. 
It was like a romance to me, to whom so few im- 
portant things had ever happened. In some way, 
the coming of this letter out of the great unknown 
had lifted me above the narrow life of the clearing. 
My world had always been so small, such a petty and 
restricted circle, that this new interest coming within 
its horizon had widened it wonderfully. 

I had grown up on the border, isolated from what 
men term civilization; and I could justly claim to 
know chiefly those secrets which the frontier teaches 
its children. My only remembrance of a different 
mode of life centred about the ragged streets of a 

9 




WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


small New England village, where I had lived in 
earlier childhood. Ever since, we had been in the 
depths of the backwoods; and after my father’s acci- 
dent I became the one upon whom the heavier part 
of the work fell. I had truly thrived upon it. In 
my hunting-trips, during the dull seasons, I learned 
many a trick of the forest, and had already borne rifle 
twice when the widely scattered settlements were 
called to arms by Indian forays. There were no 
schools in that country; indeed, our nearest neighbor 
was ten miles distant as the crow flies. But my 
mother had taught me, with much love and patience, 
from her old treasured school-books; and this, with 
other lore from the few choice volumes my father 
clung to through his wanderings, gave me much to 
ponder over. I still remember the evenings when he 
read to us gravely out of his old Shakespeare, dwelling 
tenderly upon passages he loved. And he instructed 
me in other things, — in honor and manliness, in 
woodcraft, and many a pretty thing at arms, until no 
lad in the settlements around could outdo me in rough 
border sport. I loved to hear him, of a boisterous 
winter night, — he spoke of such matters but seldom, 
— tell about his army life, the men he had fought 
beside and loved, the daring deeds bom of his younger 
blood. In that way he had sometimes mentioned this 
Roger Matherson; and it was like a blow to me now 
to hear of his death. I wondered what the little girl 


10 


THE CALL OF DUTY 


would be like; and my heart went out to her in her 
loneliness. Scarcely realizing it, I was lonely also. 

“Has he spoken yet?** I questioned anxiously 
of my mother, as I came up to the open kitchen door 
when the evening chores were done. 

“ No, John,** she answered, “ he has been sitting 
there silently looking out at the woods ever since the 
man left. He is thinking, dear, and we must not 
worry him.** 

The supper-table had been cleared away, and 
Seth, the hired man, had crept up the creaking ladder 
to his bed under the eaves, before my father spoke. 
We were all three together in the room, and I had 
drawn his chair forward, as was my custom, where 
the candle-light flickered upon his face. I knew by 
the look of calm resolve in his gray eyes that a decision 
had been reached. 

“ Mary,*’ he began gravely, “ and you, John, we 
must talk together of this new duty which has just 
come to us. I hardly know what to decide, for we are 
so poor and I am now so helpless ; yet I have prayed 
earnestly for guidance, and can but think it must be 
God’s will that we care for this poor orphan child of 
my old friend.” 

My mother crossed the room to him, and bent 
down until her soft cheek touched his lips. 

“ I knew you would, David,” she whispered, in the 
tender way she had, her hand pressing back his short 


II 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


gray hair. “ She shall ever be unto us as our own 
little girl, — the one we lost come back to us again.” 

My father bent his head wearily upon one hand, 
his eyes upon the candle flame, his other hand patting 
her fingers. 

“ It must be all of ten years,” he said slowly, 
‘‘ since last I had word of Roger Matherson. He was 
in Canada then, yet has never since been long out of my 
mind. He saved my life, not once alone, as he would 
seem to remember, but three separate times in battle. 
We were children together in the blue Berkshire hills, 
and during all our younger manhood were more than 
brothers. His little one shall henceforth be as my own 
child. God hath given her unto us, Mary, as truly as if 
she had been bom of our love. I knew that Roger had 
married, yet heard nothing of the birth of the child or 
the loss of his wife. However, from this hour the or- 
phan is to be our own ; and we must now decide upon 
some safe means of bringing her here without delay.” 

He paused. No one of us spoke. His glance 
slowly wandered from the candle flame, until it settled 
gravely upon my face as I sat resting on a rude 
bench fitted into the chimney corner. He looked so 
intently at me that my mother seemed instantly to 
interpret his thought. 

** Oh, surely not that, David? ” she exclaimed, 
pleadingly. “Not John?” 

“ I know of no other fit messenger, little woman,” 


12 


THE CALL OF DUTY 


he answered soberly. “It has indeed troubled me 
far more than all the rest, to decide on this ; yet there 
is no one else whom I think equal to the task. John is 
a good boy, mother, and has sufficient experience in 
woodcraft to make the journey.” 

“ But the savages ! ” she insisted. “ ’T is said we 
are upon the verge of a fresh outbreak, stirred up by 
this new war with England, that may involve the 
settlements at any time. You know Burns told you 
just now, — and he is an old scout, familiar with the 
West, — that British agents were active along the 
whole border, and there was great uneasiness among 
the Indian tribes.” 

“ There is serious promise of danger, ’t is true,” 
he admitted, a flash of the old fire in his eyes. “ Y et 
that is scarce likely to halt David Way land’s son. 
Indeed, it is the greater reason why this helpless 
orphan child should be early brought to our protection. 
Think of the defenceless little girl exposed alone to 
such danger ! Nor have we means of judging, Mary, of 
the real seriousness of the situation to the north and 
west. War between the nations may very likely 
arouse the spirit of the savages, yet rumors of Indian 
outbreak are always on the lips of the settlers. Bums 
himself was upon his return westward, and did not 
seem greatly troubled lest he fail to get through. He 
claimed to live at Chicagou Portage, wherever that 
may be. I only know it is the extreme frontier.” 

13 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


My mother did not answer ; and now I spoke, my 
cheeks aflame with eagerness. 

“ Do you truly mean, sir, that I am to go in search 
of the little girl?” I asked, barely trusting my own ears. 

‘‘ Yes, John,” my father replied gravely, motion- 
ing me to draw closer to his chair. “ This is a duty 
which has fallen to you as well as to your mother and 
me. We can, indeed, but poorly spare you from the 
work at this season ; yet Seth will be able to look after 
the more urgent needs of the farm while you are ab- 
sent, while he would prove quite useless on such a 
mission as this. Do not worry, Mary. Friend Burns 
is well acquainted with all that western country, and 
he tells me there is scarcely a week that parties of 
soldiers, or friendly Indians, do not pass along the 
trail, and that by waiting at Hawkins’s place for a 
few days John will be sure to find some one with 
whom he may companion on the long journey west- 
ward. He would himself have accompanied him, but 
must first bear a message to friends at Vincennes. It 
is now some weeks since Roger Matherson died, and 
we shall prove unworthy of our trust if we delay 
longer in sending for his daughter.” 

Though my mother was a western woman, patient 
and long habituated to sacrifice and peril, still her 
eyes, fixed upon my face, were filled with tears, and 
the color had deserted her cheeks. 

“I know not why it should be so, David,” she 

14 


THE CALL OF DUTY 


urged softly ; “ but in my heart I greatly fear this trip 
for John. Yet you have ever found me ready to yield 
wherever it seemed best, and I doubt not you are right 
in your decision.” 

At any other time I should have gone to her with 
words of comfort and good cheer; but now my am- 
bition was so aroused by this impending adventure as 
to permit me to think of nothing else. 

“ Is it so very far, father, to where I must go? ” 
I questioned, eagerly. “ Where is this Fort Dearborn, 
and how am I to journey in reaching there? 'T is no 
garrison of which I have ever heard.” 

“ Bring me the map your mother made of this 
country, and the regions to the westward,” he said. 
** I am not over clear in regard to the matter myself, 
although friend Burns, who claims to know all that 
country, gave me some brief description; but I found 
him most chary of speech.” 

I got the map out of the great square cupboard 
in the corner, and spread the paper flat upon the 
table, placing knives at each corner to hold it open. 
I rolled his chair up before it, and the three of us bent 
our heads over the map together, our faces glowing 
in the candle flame. It was a copy made by a quill 
from a great government map my mother had seen 
somewhere in her journeying westward; and, though 
only a rude design, it was not badly done, and was 
sufficiently accurate for our purpose. Much of it was 

15 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


still blank; yet the main open trails had been traced 
with care, the principal fords over the larger streams 
were marked, and the various government posts and 
trading settlements distinctly located and named. 
Searching for the head of the Great Lake, we were not 
long in discovering the position of the fort called 
Dearborn, which seemingly was posted upon the 
western shore, nearly opposite another garrison point 
at the mouth of the St. Joseph river. We were able 
to trace with clearness the military road that had been 
constructed northward from Fort Wayne, our nearest 
government post; but the map failed to exhibit evi- 
dence of any beaten track, or used trail, leading west- 
ward and around the head of the lake. There were 
numerous irregular lines which denoted unnamed 
streams, but by far the larger portion of the territory 
extending to the west beyond Fort Wayne had been 
simply designated as ** forest land ” and “ unexplored.” 

“ Friend Burns tells me there is a trail used by 
both troops and savages, which he has traversed sev- 
eral times,” my father explained, as he lifted his eyes 
from the map ; “ but it is not over plain, nor easily fol- 
lowed, as communication with the Fort is mostly main- 
tained by means of the waterways to the northward. 
The overland journey, however, will prove speedier, 
besides being less liable to disaster for one unaccus- 
tomed to boats. How soon can John be ready, 
mother? ” 

i5 


THE CALL OF DUTY 


Her voice trembled, and I felt the pressure of her 
hand upon my sleeve. 

“ It will take all of the morrow, David, to prepare 
his clothing properly,” she replied, with the patient 
resignation of the frontier. “ There is much that will 
need seeing after.” 

“Then John will start the next dawn. You had 
best ride the brown colt, my son ; he is of good breed, 
and speedy. Seth shall accompany you until you find 
suitable companionship at Hawkins's. He will bring 
back word of how you started, and that knowledge 
will greatly comfort your mother.” 

He paused, and held out his thin hands. 

“ You go upon this strange journey willingly, my 
son? ” 

“ Yes, father.” 

“You will be both kind and thoughtful with 
Roger Matherson's little girl?” 

“ She shall be to me as my own sister.” 

1 felt the confiding clasp of his fingers, and real- 
ized how much to him would be a successful ter- 
mination of my journey. 

“ Kiss your mother, John,” he said, a trustful 
look coming into his kindly eyes. “We must all 
be astir early on the morrow.” 

Beneath the rived shingles of my little room, 
under the sloping roof, how I turned and tossed 
through those long night hours! What visions, both 

2 17 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


asleep and awake, came to me, thronging fast upon 
my heated brain, each more marvellous than its fellow, 
and all alike pointing toward that strange country 
which I was now destined by fate to travel! Vague 
tales of wonder and mystery had come floating to me 
out of that unknown West, and now I was to behold 
it all with my own eyes. But marvellous as were my 
dreams, the reality was to be even more amazing than 
these pictures of boyish imagination. Had I known 
the truth that night, I doubt greatly whether I should 
have had the courage to face it. 

At last the gray dawn came, stealing in at the only 
window, and found me eager for the trial. 


CHAPTER III 


A NEW ACQUAINTANCE 

DREW rein upon the upper 
river bank, before we finally 
plunged into the dark woods 
beyond, and glanced back. 
I had to brush the gather- 
ing tears from my eyes 
before I could see clearly; 
and when I finally rode 
away, the picture of that 
dear old home was fixed in my memory forever. Our 
house stood near the centre of an oak opening, — 
a little patch of native prairie-land, with a narrow 
stream skirting it on one side, and a dense fringe of 
forest all about. The small story-and-a-half cabin 
of hewn logs, with its lean-to of rough hand-riven 
planks, fronted to the southward; and the northern 
expanse of roof was green with moss. My father 
sat in the open doorway, his uplifted hand shading 
his eyes as he gazed after us ; while my mother stood 
by his side, one arm resting upon the back of his 
chair, the other extended, waving a white cloth in 

19 




WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


farewell. Rover was without, where I had bidden 
him remain, eagerly watching for some signal of re- 
lenting upon my part. Beyond stood the rude out- 
buildings, silhouetted against the deep green. It was 
a homely, simple scene, — yet till now it had been all 
the world to me. 

With a final wave of the hand, I moved forward, 
until the intervening trees, like the falling of a curtain, 
hid it all from view. Seth was astride the old mare, 
riding bareback, his white goat-like beard hanging 
down his breast imtil it mingled with her mane, while 
his long thin legs were drawn up in the awkward way 
he had. He was a strange, silent, gloomy man, as 
austere as his native hills; and we rode on with no 
exchange of speech. Indeed, my thoughts were of a 
nature that I had no wish to share with another; so 
it was some time before the depth of loneliness which 
oppressed my spirits enabled me to feel even passing 
interest in the things at hand. 

“ I *d hate like thunder ter be a-goin* on your trip, 
Maester John,’’ volunteered Seth at last, solemnly 
turning on the mare’s broad back to face me. 

“ And why? ” I asked, wonderingly ; for the man’s 
rare gift of silence had won him a certain reputation 
for deep, occult knowledge which I could not wholly 
ignore. “ It will bring me the sight of some wonderful 
country, no doubt.” 

His shrewd gimlet eyes seemed fairly to pierce 


20 


A NEW ACQUAINTANCE 

me, as he deliberately helped himself to tobacco from 
a pouch at his waist. 

“Wal, that may all be, Maester John; but I’ve 
heerd tell ther is some most awful things goes on out 
yonder,” and he swung his long arm meaningly toward 
the west. “ Animyles sich as don’t prowl raound yere, 
man-yeatin’ snakes as big as thet tree, an’ the blood- 
thirstiest salvages as ever was. An’ arter a while ther 
ain’t no more trees grows, ther Ian’ is thet poor, by 
gosh! jist a plumb dead levil er’ short grass, an’ no 
show ter hide ner nuthin’.” 

‘‘Were you ever there, Seth?” I questioned with 
growing anxiety, for I had heard some such vague 
rumors as these before. 

“Me? Not by a dinged sight!” he replied, em- 
phatically. “ This yere is a long way further west 
thin I keer ’bout bein’. Ol’ Vermont is plenty good 
’nough fer this chicken, an’ many’s ther day I wish 
I was back ther. But I hed a cousin onct who tuk ter 
sojerin’ ’long with Gineral Clarke, an’ went ’cross them 
ther prairies ter git Vincennes frum the British. Lor’ ! 
it must a’ bin more ner thirty year ago! He tol’ me 
thet they jist hed ter wade up ter ther neck in water fer 
days an’ days. I ain’t so durn fond o’ water as all thet. 
An’ he said as how rattlesnakes was everywhere; an’ 
ther Injuns was mos’ twice es big es they be yere.” 

“ But Clarke, and nearly all of his men, got back 
safely,” I protested. 


21 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“ Oh, I guess some on ’em got back, ’cause they 
was an awful lot in thet army, mighty nigh two 
thousand on ’em, Ephriam said ; but, I tell ye, they hed 
a most terrible tough time afore they did git hum. I 
seed my cousin whin he kim back, an* he was jist a 
mere shadder; though he was bigger ner you whin 
he went ’way.” 

“ But Fort Dearborn is much farther to the north. 
Perhaps it will be better up there.” 

“ Wuss,” he insisted, with a most mournful shake 
of the head, “ a dinged sight wuss. Ephriam said es 
how the further north ye wint, the tougher it got. He 
saw an Injun from up near the big lake — a Pottamot- 
tamie, or somethin’ like thet — what was nine fut 
high, an’ he told him es how the rivers in his kintry 
was all full o* man-eatin’ critters like snakes, an’ some 
on ’em hed a hundred legs ter crawl with, an’ cud 
travel a dinged sight faster ner a hoss. By gosh ! but 
you bet I don’t want none on it. Your father must ’a’ 
been plum crazy fer ter sind ye way out ther all 
’lone, — jist a green boy like you. What ye a-goin’ 
fer, enyhow?” 

I explained to him the occasion and necessity for 
my trip, but he shook his head dubiously, his long face 
so exceedingly mournful that I could not remain un- 
affected by it. 

“ Wal,” he said at length, carefully weighing his 
words, “ maybe it ’s all right ’nough, but I ’ve got my 


22 


A NEW ACQUAINTANCE 

doubts jist the same. I’ll bet thet ther gal is jist 
one o’ them will-o’-the-wisps we hear on, an’ you 
never will find her. You ’ll jist wander ’round, huntin’ 
an’ huntin’ her, till ye git old, or them monsters git 
ye. An’ I ’ll be blamed if ever I heerd tell o* no sich 
fort as thet, nohow.” 

Seth was certainly proving a Job’s comforter; and 
I was already sufficiently troubled about the final out- 
come of my adventure. Hence my only hope of retain- 
ing any measure of courage was to discountenance 
further conversation, and we continued to jog along 
in silence, although I caught him looking at me sev- 
eral times in a manner that expressed volumes. 

We camped that night in the dense heart of some 
oak woods, beside a pleasant stream of clear, cool 
water. Late the following evening, just as the sun 
was disappearing behind the trees, our wearied horses 
emerged suddenly upon the bank of a broad river, and 
we could discern the dim outlines of Hawkins’s build- 
ings amid the deepening shadows of the opposite shore. 

Upon one thing I was now fully determined. 
Seth should start back with the first streak of the 
next dawn. His long face and dismal croakings kept 
me constantly upon nettles, and I felt that I should 
face the imcertain future with far stouter heart if he 
were out of my sight. Firm in this resolve, I urged my 
horse to splash his reluctant way through the shallows 
of the ford ; and as our animals rose on the steep bank 

23 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


of the western shore, we found ourselves at once in 
the midst of a group of scattered buildings. It seemed 
quite a settlement in that dim light, although the 
structures were all low and built of logs. The largest 
and most centrally located of these was evidently the 
homestead, as it had a rudely constructed porch in 
front, and a thin cloud of smoke was drifting from its 
chimney. As I drew nearer, I could perceive the re- 
flection of a light streaming out through the open 
doorway. 

No one appeared in answer to our shouting, — not 
even a stray dog ; and, in despair of thus arousing the 
inhabitants, I flung my rein to Seth, and, mounting 
the doorstep, peered within. As I did so, a shiny, 
round, black face, with whitened eyes and huge red 
lips, seemed to float directly toward me through the 
inner darkness. It was so startling an apparition that 
I sprang back in such haste as nearly to topple over 
backward from the steps. Heaven alone knows what 
I fancied it might be; indeed, I had little enough time 
in which to guess, for I had barely touched the ground, 
— my mind still filled with memories of Seth’s gro- 
tesque horrors, — when the whole figure emerged into 
view, and I knew him instantly for a negro, though I 
had never before seen one of his race. He was a 
dandified-looking fellow, wearing a stiff white waist- 
coat fastened by gilded buttons, with a pair of short 
curly mustaches, waxed straight out at the ends; and 
24 


A NEW ACQUAINTANCE 

he stood there grinning at me in a manner that showed 
all his gleaming teeth. Before I could recover my wits 
enough to address him, I heard a voice from within 
the house, — a soft, drawling voice, with a marked 
foreign accent clinging to it. 

“ Sam,” it called, “ have you found either of the 
scoundrelly rascals?” 

The darkey started as if shot, and glanced ner- 
vously back over his shoulder. 

‘‘ No, sah,” he replied with vigor, ‘‘ dat Mistah 
Hawkins am not yere, sah. An’ dat Mistah Burns has 
gone ’way fer gud, sah. But dar am a gemman yere, 
sah, — ” 

“ What ! ” came a surprised ejaculation that 
caused the negro to jump, and I heard a chair over- 
turned within. “A gentleman? Sam, don’t deceive 
me! For the love of Heaven, let me see him. May I 
be bastinadoed if it hasn’t been three months since 
my eyes beheld the last specimen! Sam, where was 
it I saw the last one? ” 

“ Montreal, sah.” 

“By Saint Guise! ’tis gospel truth,” and the 
speaker strode forward, candle in hand. “ Here, now, 
you ace of spades,” he cried impatiently, “hold the 
flame imtil I bid this paragon of the wilderness fit 
welcome in the name of Hawkins, who strangely 
seems to have vanished from the sylvan scene. Alas, 
poor Hawkins! two gentlemen at one time, I greatly 

25 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


fear, will be the death of him. Would that his good 
friend Burns might be with him on this festive occa- 
sion. Ye gods, what a time it would be!” 

As the black hastily reached out for the candle- 
stick, his erratic master as quickly changed his mind. 

“ No,” he muttered thoughtfully, drawing back 
within the hall ; “ ’t is far more fit that such formal 
greeting should occur within, where the essentials 
may be found with which to do full courtesy. I will 
instead retire. Sam, bid the gentleman meet me in 
the banquet halb and then, mark you, thou archfiend 
of blackness, seek out at once that man Hawkins in 
his hidden lair, and bid him have ample repast spread 
instantly, on pain of my displeasure. By all the saints ! 
if it be not at once forthcoming I will toast the scoun- 
drel over his own slow fire.” 

“ Seth,” I said to my staring companion, as soon 
as I could recover from my own surprise, “ find a 
place for the horses somewhere in the stables, and 
come in.” 

“Where is your master to be found?” I ques- 
tioned of the black, whose air of self-importance had 
been resumed the moment he was left alone. 

“ Second door to de right, sah,” he answered, 
gazing curiously at my deerskin hunting-shirt as I 
pressed by. 

I had little difficulty in finding it, for all that the 
way was totally dark, as the fellow within was lustily 
26 


A NEW ACQUAINTANCE 

carolling a French love-song. I hung back for a 
moment, striving vainly to distinguish the words. 

Without pausing to make my presence known, 
I opened the door quietly, and stepped within. The 
room was not a large one, though it occupied the full 
width of the house; and the two lighted candles that 
illumined it, one sitting upon a table otherwise bare, 
the other occupying the rude dresser in the far corner, 
revealed clearly the entire interior. 

The sole occupant of the room sat upon a corner 
of the table, one foot resting on the floor, the other 
dangling carelessly. Hardly more than a year my 
elder, he bore in his face the indelible marks of a life 
vastly different. His features were clear-cut, and un- 
deniably handsome, with a curl of rare good-humor to 
his lips and an audacious sparkle within his dark eyes. 
His hat, cocked and ornamented in foreign fashion, 
lay beside him; and I could not help noting his long 
hair, carefully powdered and arranged with a nicety 
almost conspicuous, while his clothing was rich in 
both texture and coloring, and exhibited many traces 
of vanity in ribbon and ornament. Within his belt, 
fastened by a large metal clasp, he wore a pearl- 
handled pistol with long barrel; and a rapier, with 
richly jewelled hilt, dangled at his side. Altogether 
he made a fine figure of a man, and one of a sort I had 
never met before. 

If he interested me, doubtless I was no less a 
27 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


study to him. I could see the astonishment in his 
eyes, after my first entrance, change to am^isement as 
he gazed. Then he brought a white hand down, with 
a smart slap, upon the board beside him. 

“ By all the saints ! he exclaimed, “ but I believe 
the black was right. ’T is the face of a gentle, or I 
know naught of the breed, though the attire might fool 
the very elect. Yet, parhtea! if memory serves, ’tis 
scarcely worse than what I wore in Spain.” 

He swung down upon his feet and faced me, ex- 
tending one hand with all cordiality, while lips and 
eyes smiled pleasantly. 

“ Monsieur,” he said, bowing low, and with a 
grace of movement quite new to me, “ I bid you 
hearty welcome to whatsoever of good cheer this 
desert may have to offer, and present to you the 
companionship of Villiers de Croix. It may not seem 
much, yet I pledge you that kings have valued it ere 
now.” 

It was a form of introduction most unfamiliar 
to me, and seemed bristling with audacity and conceit ; 
but I recognized the heartiness of his purpose, and 
hastened to make fit response. 

“ I meet you with much pleasure,” I answered, 
accepting the proffered hand. “ I am John Wayland.” 

The graceful recklessness of the fellow, so con- 
spicuous in each word and action, strongly attracted 
me. I confess I liked him from his first utterance, 
28 


A NEW ACQUAINTANCE 

although mentally, and perhaps morally as well, no 
two men of our age could possibly be more unlike. 

Wayland? ” he mused, with a shrug, as if the 
sound of the word was unpleasant. “Wayland? — 
’t is a harsh name to my ears, yet I have heard it men- 
tioned before in England as that of a great family. 
You are English, then?” 

I shook my head emphatically ; for the old wounds 
of controversy and battle were then being opened 
afresh, and the feeling of antagonism ran especially 
high along the border. 

“ I am of this country,” I protested with earnest- 
ness, “ and we call ourselves Americans.” 

He laughed easily, evidently no little amused at 
my retort, twisting his small mustache through his 
slender fingers as he eyed me. 

“Ah! but that is all one to me; it is ever the 
blood and not the name that counts, my friend. Now 
I am French by many a generation, Gascon by birth, 
and bearing commission in the Guard of the Emperor ; 
yet sooth, ’t is the single accursed drop of Irish blood 
within my veins that brings me across the great seas 
and maroons me in this howling wilderness. But sit 
down. Monsieur. There will be both food and wine 
served presently, and I would speak with you more at 
ease.” 

As he spoke he flimg himself upon a low settee, 
carelessly motioning me toward another. 

29 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“ On my word,” he said, eying me closely as I 
crossed over to the bench, “ but you are a big fellow 
for your years, and ’t is strength, not flabby flesh, or 
I know not how to judge. You would make a fine 
figure of a soldier, John Way land. Napoleon per- 
chance might offer you a marshal’s baton, just to see 
you in the uniform. Parblea! I have seen stranger 
things happen.” 

‘‘ You are now connected with the French army? ” 
I questioned, wondering what could have brought him 
to this remote spot. 

** Ay, a Captain of the Guard, yet an exile, ban- 
ished from the court on account of my sins. Sacre! 
but there are others, Monsieur. I have but one fault, 
my friend, — grave enough, I admit, yet but one, upon 
my honor, and even that is largely caused by that 
drop of Irish blood. I love the ladies over-well, I 
sometimes fearj and once I dared to look too high 
for favor.” 

“ And have you stopped here long? ” 

“Here — at Hawkins’s, mean you? Ten days, as 
I live; would you believe I could ever have survived 
so grievous a siege? ” and he looked appealingly about 
upon the bare apartment. “ Ten days of Hawkins 
and of Sam, Monsieur ; ay ! and of Ol’ Burns ; of sky, 
and woods, and river, with never so much as a real 
white man even to drink liquor with. By Saint 
Louis ! but I shall be happy enough to face you across 

30 


A NEW ACQUAINTANCE 

the board to-night. Yet surely it is not your purpose 
to halt here long? ** 

“ Only until I succeed in joining some party trav- 
elling westward to the Illinois country.” 

“ No ! is that your aim? ’T is my trip also, if Fate 
be ever kind enough to bring hither a guide. Sacrel 
there was one here but now, as odd a devil as ever bore 
rifle, and he hath taken the western trail alone, for he 
hated me from the start. That was Or Burns. Know 
you him? ” 

“ ’T was he who brought the message that sent 
me here; yet he said little of his own journey. But 
you mention not where you are bound?” 

“ I seek Fort Dearborn, on the Great Lake.” 

“That likewise is to be the end of my journey. 
You go to explore?” 

“ Explore? Faith, no,” and he patted his hand 
upon the bench most merrily. “ There are but two 
reasons to my mind important enough to lure a French 
gentleman into such a hole as this, and send him 
wandering through your backwoods, — either war or 
love. Monsieur; and I know of no war that calleth 
me. 

Love, as he thus spoke of it, was almost an un- 
known term to me then; and, in truth, I scarcely 
grasped the full significance of his meaning. 

“ You seek some lady, then, at Fort Dearborn? ” 
I asked, for his tone seemed to invite the inquiry. 

31 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“ Ay ! ” with quickened enthusiasm ; “ ’t is there 
Toinette has hidden herself for this year or more, — 
Toinette, on my word as a French soldier, the fairest 
maid of Montreal. I have just discovered her where- 
abouts, yet I shall win her ere I traverse these trails 
again, or I am not Villiers de Croix.” 

‘‘I travel thither to bring back a little orphan 
child with me,” I explained simply, in response to his 
look, “ and will most gladly aid you where I can.” 

Before he could answer, Hawkins, a gaunt, silent 
frontiersman, together with Sam, entered the room, 
bearing between them our evening meal. 


32 


CHAPTER IV 


CAPTAIN WELLS OF FORT WAYNE 

E tarried at the table a 
considerable time, — not be- 
cause of any tempting va- 
riety in the repast, as the 
food furnished was of the 
coarsest, but for the sake 
of companionship, and be- 
cause we discovered much 
of passing interest to con- 
verse about. De Croix had travelled widely, and 
had seen a great variety of life both in camp and 
court. He proved a vivacious fellow, full of amus- 
ing anecdote, — a bottle of rich v/ine drawn from 
his own private stock so stimulating his imagina- 
tion that I had little to do but sit and listen. Yet 
he contrived to learn from me, — how, I hardly 
know, — the simple story of my life, and, indeed, 
assumed a certain air of patronizing superiority, 
boasting unduly of his wider experience and achieve- 
ments in a way that somewhat nettled me at last, as 
I began to comprehend that he was merely show- 
3 33 



WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


ing off his genteel graces the better to exhibit his 
contempt for my provincial narrowness. I did not 
permit this really to anger me, for our views upon 
such matters were totally different, and I could not 
help feel admiration for the brilliant and audacious 
fellow. 

The black waited upon us while we ate and drank, 
moving noiselessly across the rough floor, so keenly 
observant of his master’s slightest wish as to convince 
me the latter possessed a temper which upon occasion 
burst its bounds. Yet now he was surely in the best of 
humors; and with the coming of our second bottle, 
after the remains of the repast had been removed, he 
sang several love-songs in his native tongue, the mean- 
ing of which I could only guess at. 

“ Saint Guise ! ” he exclaimed at last, flinging one 
booted foot over the table corner. “You are a very 
sphinx of a fellow. You deny being English, yet you 
have all the silence of that nation. I am hungry. Mon- 
sieur, for the sweet sound of the French tongue.” 

“ ’T is a language of which I know little,” I an- 
swered, striving to speak pleasantly, although his 
manner was becoming less and less to my liking. “ I 
have met with your coureurs de bois in plenty, and 
picked up sufficient of their common phrases to enable 
me to converse on ordinary themes with them; yet 
I confess I find it difficult to follow your speech.” 

^'Canaitte/^ he returned, in tone of undisguised 
34 


CAPTAIN WELLS OF FORT WAYNE 


contempt, “ Canadian half-breeds, the very offscour- 
ings of our people. Sacre I but you should know us 
at home. Monsieur, — we are the conquerors of the 
world!” 

I wish I could picture to you how he said this. 
Simple as it now reads, he made it vital with meaning. 
The insolent boast was uttered with such a swagger 
that my face instantly flushed, and he noted it. 

“ Is it not true. Monsieur? ” he asked quickly, his 
own blood heated by the wine. I tell you, the whole 
of Europe has trembled, and will again, at the nod of 
our Napoleon. Why, even over here we had to come 
with our legions to help you repel the redcoats. Saint 
Guise! but it was the Frenchmen who made you a 
nation.” 

“ Ay ! but only that they might revenge them- 
selves upon England,” I retorted blindly, ** and the 
force sent merely hurried a result already inevitable; 
yet we gave you a slight touch of our own quality in 
’98 that stung a bit, I warrant.” 

** Bah ! a ship or two. ’T was well for you that 
our army was so closely engaged elsewhere, or the 
story would have a different ending.” 

We were both of us upon our feet by this time, 
glaring at each other across the board, our faces hot 
with the ill-restrained passion of youth. A word more 
from either would surely have precipitated matters; 
but before it could be spoken the door leading into the 
35 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


hallway was hurriedly flung aside, and, without apol- 
ogy for the intrusion, two men strode forward into 
the glare of light. 

“Serve supper here, Hawkins,” commanded the 
first, his back still turned toward us. “ Anything you 
may chance to have in the house, — only let there be 
little delay.” 

He was a tall, dark-featured man, smoothly 
shaven, as swarthy as an Indian, with stern dark eyes, 
thick coarse hair, and an abrupt manner born of 
long command. His companion, of lighter build and 
younger face, was attired in a travel-stained uniform of 
blue and buff; but he who was evidently the leader 
was so completely wrapped within the folds of a riding- 
cloak as to reveal nothing of rank other than his un- 
mistakable military presence and bearing. Turning 
from the door^ he swept a penetrating glance over us, 
loosening the clasp of his cloak as he did so. ' 

“ I regret having thoughtlessly interrupted your 
quarrel, gentlemen,” he said brusquely, “ but this ap- 
pears to be the sole excuse for a public-room in the 
place. However, my services are at your command if 
they be desired in any way.” 

De Croix laughed, perfectly at his ease in a 
moment. 

“ *T is scarce so serious,” he explained lightly. 
“ A mere interchange of compliments over the re- 
spective merits of our nations in war.” 

36 


CAPTAIN WELLS OF FORT WAYNE 


The stranger looked at him intently, and with 
some manifest disapproval. 

“And yours, no doubt, was France,” he said 
shortly. 

De Croix bowed, his hand upon his heart. 

“ I have worn her uniform. Monsieur.” 

“ I thought as much, and fear my sympathies may 
be altogether with your antagonist in the controversy. 
Yet what’s the use of wasting life like that? Surely 
there is fighting enough in this world of ours for such 
young blades, without inventing cause for quarrel. 
Come, sit down once more, and join with us in what- 
soever cheer our landlord may provide.” 

As he spoke, he flung aside his cloak, revealing 
beneath merely the well-worn dress of a frontiersman, 
with an army sword-belt buckled about the waist. 

“ Come, Walter,” he called to his companion, who 
remained standing, “there is to be no touch of cere- 
mony here to-night. Gentlemen, I am Captain Wells, 
formerly of the army, now Indian agent at Fort 
Wayne; and this is Sergeant Jordan.” 

The Frenchman bowed gracefully, and extended 
a card across the table. The other glanced at it 
carelessly. 

“Ah! De Croix; pleased to meet you. Think I 
heard some of our officers speak of seeing you a month 
ago at Detroit, — McBain or Ramsey, I have forgotten 
which.” 


37 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“ I recall a game of cards with a Lieutenant 
Ramsey, a rather choleric Scotchman, with a mag- 
nificent capacity for strong whiskey.” 

The Captain turned inquiringly toward me, and 
I hastened to name myself. 

“ Way land, did you say? ” he asked, with deep- 
ened interest. “ ’T is not a common appellation, yet 
I once knew a Major by that name in Wayne’s 
command.” 

“ My father, sir,” I asserted proudly. 

With quick impulsiveness he extended his hand. 

“As noble a soldier as I have ever known,” he 
exclaimed heartily. “ I served with him in two cam- 
paigns. But what are you two young fellows doing 
here? for it would be hard to conceive of a more 
disheartening place of residence. Surely, De Croix, 
you are not permanently located in this delightful 
spot? ” 

“ The saints forbid ! ” ejaculated the other, with 
an expression of horror that caused the younger officer 
to smile. “Yet I have already survived ten days of 
it. We seek to join some party bound westward, either 
to Fort Dearborn or beyond.” 

The elder officer smiled gravely, as his stern eyes 
wandered thoughtfully over our faces in the candle- 
light. 

“ You will scarcely find those who go beyond,” 
he said, at last, slowly. “ That is our extreme frontier ; 

38 


CAPTAIN WELLS OF FORT WAYNE 


and even this post, I hear it rumored, is to be aban- 
doned shortly. Indeed, I am now proceeding thither, 
hoping to escort a niece safely eastward because of 
that very probability. I can offer you naught save 
companionship and guidance upon the journey; yet 
if you needs must go, you may ride with us and wel- 
come. But ’tis my first duty to advise you strongly 
against it.” 

“You look for trouble?” I asked, for his words 
and manner were grave. 

“ I am not one easily alarmed,” he answered, scan- 
ning our faces as we fronted him ; “ but I have lived 
long among the Indians, and know them well. This 
new war with England will not pass without atrocities 
along the border, and in my judgment we are now on 
the eve of a general uprising of the savages. It will 
surely come with the first news of British success, and 
’t is the fear of reverses at Dearborn that has hurried 
me westward. You, sir,” and he turned toward me, 
“ are young, but it is evident you have been bred to 
the frontier, so you will realize what it may mean to 
us if we be caught in the Illinois country by such 
an uprising.” 

I bowed, deeply impressed by his earnestness. 

“ I have, indeed, seen something of savage war- 
fare, and know much of its horror,” I replied stoutly. 
“ Yet what you say of the possible future only makes 
more urgent my duty to press on.” 

39 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


*‘And you?” he asked De Croix. 

“ Faith, Captain,” was the instant reply, ** it is 
the gentle hand of love which leads me westward, 
and never yet did a true Frenchman hesitate in such 
a quest because danger lurked between.” 

Wells smiled grimly. 

‘‘ Then my conscience is left clear,” he exclaimed 
heartily ; “ and if you ride with me to death, ’t is of 
your own choosing. However, glad enough we have 
cause to be thus to gain two more fighting men. I 
have a party of Miamis travelling with me, and I 
doubt not there will be ample work for all before we 
return. Here comes supper; let us eat, drink, and be 
merry, even though to-morrow it be our fate to die. 
’T is the best border philosophy.” 


40 


CHAPTER V 


THROUGH THE HEART OF THE FOREST 

E lingered long over the 
wine, — for that which De 
Croix had furnished proved 
excellent, and greatly stim- 
ulated our discourse. Yet, 
I must confess, it was drunk 
chiefly by the Frenchman 
and Jordan; for Wells 
barely touched his glass, 
while I had never acquired a taste for such liquor. De 
Croix waxed somewhat boastful, toward the last ; but 
we paid small heed to him, for I was deeply interested 
in Captain Wells’s earlier experiences among the sav- 
ages, which he related gravely and with much detail. 
Jordan proved himself a reckless, roistering young 
fellow, full of high spirits when in liquor ; yet I formed 
an impression that he stood well in his commander’s 
favor, for the latter warned him kindly to be more 
abstemious. 

However late it may have been when we finally 
sought rest, we were early astir the next morning. 

41 




WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


I despatched Seth upon his return journey to the farm, 
bearing under his girdle as cheerful a note of farewell 
as I could frame ; and then, though it was scarce later 
than sun-up, the rest of us were fairly upon the west- 
ward trail. There were in the party thirty Miami 
Indians, strong, lusty-looking warriors, most of them. 
The larger portion of them travelled in our advance, 
under command of one of their chiefs; a smaller de- 
tachment acting in similar manner as a rear-guard. 
The white men, as well as the negro, who controlled 
a pack animal heavily laden with his master’s baggage, 
were on horseback; and it pleased me greatly, — for 
I was young and easily flattered, — to have Captain 
Wells rein in his horse at my side as soon as we were 
safely across the ford, leaving the Frenchman either 
to companion with Jordan or ride alone. 

I looked pt De Croix curiously, as he moved for- 
ward with slow carelessness in our front, for he had 
kept the entire company waiting outside the house for 
half an hour in the gray dawn while he curled and 
powdered his hair. Doubtless this was what so dis- 
gusted Wells, whose long black locks were worn in a 
simple queue, tied somewhat negligently with a dark 
cord. I almost smiled at the scowl upon his swarthy 
face, as he contemplated the fashionably attired dandy, 
whose bright-colored raiment was conspicuous against 
the dark forest-leaves that walled us round. 

I have heard it claimed these gay French beaux 
42 


THROUGH THE HEART OF THE FOREST 


fight well when need arises,” he commented at last, 
thoughtfully ; “ but ’t is surely a poor place here for 
flaunting ribbons and curling locks. Possibly my fine 
gentleman yonder may have occasion to test his mettle 
before we ride back again. Sure it is that if that time 
ever comes he will not look so sweet.” 

“ You make me feel that we go forward into real 
peril,” I said, wondering that he should seem so fearful 
of the outcome. “ Have you special reason? ” 

“The Miamis have already been approached by 
Indian runners, and their young men are restless. It 
was only because I am the adopted son of Big Turtle, 
and a recognized warrior of their tribe, that these have 
consented to accompany me; and I fear they may 
desert at the first sign of a hostile meeting,” he an- 
swered gravely. “ There is an Indian conspiracy form- 
ing, and a most dangerous one, involving, so far as I 
can learn, every tribe north of the Ohio. Now that 
war with England has actually been declared, there 
can no longer be doubt that the chiefs will take sides 
with the British. They have everything to gain and 
little to lose by such action. The rumor was at Fort 
Wayne, even before we left, that Mackinac had already 
fallen; and if that prove true, every post west of the 
Alleghanies is in danger. I fear that death and flame 
will sweep the whole frontier ; and I frankly acknowl- 
edge, Way land, my only hope in this expedition is 
that, by hard travel, we may be able to reach Chicagou 

43 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


and return again before the outbreak comes. Tom 
Bums, an old scout of Wayne’s, and a settler in that 
coimtry, was at Fort Wayne a month since with an 
urgent message from the commandant at Dearborn. 
I tell you frankly, it will be touch and go with us.” 

“ Chicagou? ” I questioned, for the word was one 
I had heard but once before and was of an odd sound. 

“ Ay ! old Au Sable called it the Chicagou portage 
long before the fort named Dearborn was ever estab- 
lished there. ’T is the name the French applied to a 
small river entering the Great Lake from the west at 
that point.” 

“Have you journeyed there before?” 

“ Once, in 1803. I held Indian council on the spot, 
and helped lay out the government reservation. ’T is 
a strange flat country, with much broken land extend- 
ing to the northward.” 

Little by little our conversation lapsed into 
silence; for the narrow trail we followed was a most 
difficult one, and at times taxed our ingenuity to the 
utmost. It led through dense dark woods, fortunately 
free from underbrush, skirted the uncertain edges of 
numerous marshes in the soft ooze of which the hoofs 
of our horses sank dangerously, and for several miles 
followed the sinuous course of a small but rapid 
stream, the name of which I have forgotten. There 
were few openings in the thick forest-growth, and thp 
matted branches overhead, interlaced with luxuriant 
44 


THROUGH THE HEART OF THE FOREST 


wild vines, so completely shut out all vestige of the 
sun that we toiled onward, hour after hour, in con- 
tinuous twilight. 

What mysterious signs our guides followed, I was 
not sufficiently expert in woodcraft to determine. To 
my eyes, — and I sought to observe with care, — there 
was nowhere visible the slightest sign that others had 
ever preceded us; it v/as all unbroken, virgin wilder- 
ness, marked only by slow centuries of growth. 
The accumulation of moss on the tree-trunks, as well 
as the shading of the leaves, told me that we con- 
tinued to journey almost directly westward ; and there 
was no perceptible hesitancy in our steady progress, 
save as we deviated from it here and there because 
of natural obstacles too formidable to be directly 
surmounted. 

We skirted immense trees, veritable monarchs of 
the ages, hoary with time, grim guardians of such 
forest solitudes; climbed long hills roughened by in- 
numerable boulders with sharp edges hidden beneath 
the fallen leaves, that lamed our horses ; or descended 
into dark and gloomy ravines, dank with decaying 
vegetation, finally halting for a brief meal upon the 
southern edge of a small lake, the water of which was 
as clear and blue as the cloudless August sky that 
arched it. The sand of the shore where we rested was 
white as snow, yet De Croix had his man spread a 
cloak upon it before he ventured to sit down, and 

45 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 

with care tucked a lace handkerchief about his throat 
to prevent stray crumbs from soiling the delicate yel- 
low of his waistcoat. 

“ One might fancy this was to be your wedding 
day, Monsieur,” observed Wells, sarcastically, as 
he marked these dainty preparations, and noted with 
disgust the attentive negro hovering near. “We 
are not perfumed courtiers dancing at the court of 
Versailles.” 

De Croix glanced about him carelessly. 

** Mon Dieuy no,” he said, tapping the lid of a 
richly chased silver snuff-box with his slender fingers. 
“ Yet, my dear friend, a French gentleman cannot 
wholly forget all that belongs to the refinements of 
society, even in the heart of the wilderness. Sam, by 
any foul chance did you overlook the lavender water? ” 

“ No, sah; h am safe in de saddle-bags.” 

“And the powder-puff, the small hand-mirror, 
and the curling-iron? ” 

“ I saw to ebery one ob dem, sah.” 

De Croix gave a deep sigh of relief, and rested 
back upon the cloak, negligently crossing his legs. 

“ Captain,” he remarked slowly and thoughtfully, 
“ you Ve no idea the trouble that negro is to me. 
Would you believe it? he actually left my nail-brush 
behind at Detroit, and not another to be had for love 
or money this side of Montreal ! And only last night 
he mislaid a box of rouge, and, by Saint Denis! I 
46 


THROUGH THE HEART OF THE FOREST 


hardly dare hope there is so much as an ounce of it 
in the whole party.” 

** I rather suspect not,” was the somewhat crusty 
reply; ‘‘yet if a bit of bear’s grease could be made 
to serve your turn, we might possibly find some among 
us.” 

“ I know not its virtue,” admitted the Frenchman 
gravely ; “ yet if it reddens the lips it might be useful. 
But that which I had came from the shop of Jessold in 
Paris, and is beyond all price.” 

We were ten days upon this forest journey, from 
the time of our crossing the Maumee; and they were 
hard days, even to those of us long habituated to the 
hardships of border travel. Indeed, I know few forms 
of exertion that so thoroughly test the mettle of men 
as journeying across the wilderness. There are no 
artificial surroundings, either to inspire or restrain; 
and insensibly humanity returns to natural conditions, 
permitting the underlying savage to gain ascendency. 
I have seen more than one seemingly polished gentle- 
man, resplendent with all the graces of the social code, 
degenerate into a surly brute with only a few hours 
of such isolation and the ceaseless irritation of the 
trail. Yet I must acknowledge that De Croix accepted 
it all without a murmur, and as became a man. His 
entire plaint was over the luxuries he must forego, 
and he made far more ado about a bit of dust soiling 
his white linen than about any real hardship of the 

47 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


march. ’T is my memory that he rather grew upon 
us; for his natural spirits were so high that he sang 
where others swore, and found cause for amusement 
and laughter in much that tested sorely even the 
Indian-like patience of Wells. He was like a boy, 
this gayly perfumed dandy of the French court; but 
beneath his laces and ribbons, his affectations and 
conceits, there hid a stout heart that bade him smile 
where other men would lie down and die. He com- 
panioned mostly with Jordan as we journeyed, for 
Wells never could become reconciled to his mincing 
ways; yet I confess now that I began to value him 
greatly, and longed more than once to join with the 
two who rode in our advance, cheering their weari- 
some way with quips of fancy and snatches of song. 
He knew it too, the tantalizing rascal, and would fre- 
quently send back a biting squib over his shoulder, 
hoping thus to draw me away from the silent grim- 
faced soldier beside whom I held place. 

It was truly a rough and wild journey, full enough 
of hardship, and without adventure to give zest to the 
ceaseless toil. I know now that we made a wide 
detour to the southward, trusting thus to avoid any 
possible contact with prowling bands of either Potta- 
wattomies or Wyandots, whom our friendly Miamis 
seemed greatly to dread. This took us far from the 
regular trail, rough and ill-defined as that was, and 
plunged us into an untrodden wilderness; so that 
48 


THROUGH THE HEART OF THE FOREST 


there were times when we fairly had to cut our way 
through the twisted forest branches and tangled 
brakes of cane with tomahawks and hunting-knives. 
We skirted rocky bluffs, toiled painfully over fallen 
timber, or waded ankle deep in softened clay, in the 
black gloomy shadows of dense woods which seemed 
interminable, meeting with nothing human, yet con- 
stantly startling wild game from the hidden coverts, 
and feeling more and more, as we advanced, the lone- 
liness and danger of our situation, — realizing that 
each league we travelled only added to the length and 
peril of our retreat if ever disaster came or Fort Dear- 
born were found deserted. 

Captain Wells, naturally grave and silent from his 
long training among savages, grew more and more 
reticent and watchful as we progressed, riding often 
at my side for hours without uttering a word, his 
keen eyes warily searching the dark openings upon 
every hand as if suspecting that each spot of gloom 
might prove the chosen place for an ambuscade. Our 
Indian allies moved like shadows, gliding over the 
ground noiselessly; and the occasional outbursts of 
merriment from De Croix and his equally reckless 
companion grew gradually less frequent, and appeared 
more forced. The constant and never-ending toil 
of our progress, the depressing gloom of the sombre 
primeval forest on every side of us, the knowledge of 
possible peril lurking in each league of this haunted 
4 49 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


silence, weighed upon us all, and at last closed the 
lips of even the most jovial of our number. 

It was the tenth day, as I remember, — though it 
may have been later, for I have no writing to guide 
me concerning dates, — when we emerged into a 
broad valley, treeless save for a thin fringe of dwarfed 
growth skirting the bank of a shallow stream which 
ran almost directly westward. I cannot describe how 
sweet, after our gloomy journey, the sunlight ap- 
peared, as we first marked it play in golden waves 
over the long grass ; or the relief we felt at being able 
to gaze ahead once more and see something of the 
country that we were traversing. ’Twas like a sud- 
den release from prison. Our jaded horses felt with 
us the exhilaration of the change, and moved with 
greater sprightliness than they had shown for days. 
As the sun began its circle downward, vast rolling 
hills of white and yellow sand arose upon the right 
of our line of march, — huge mounds, many of them, 
glistening in the sunshine, some jagged at the summit, 
others rounded as if by art, so unusual in form and 
presence that I ventured to address our leader regard- 
ing them, as he rode with his head bent low and a far- 
off look in his eyes. 

‘‘ The sand? ” he questioned, glancing up as if 
startled at the sound of my voice. ‘‘ Why, it has been 
cast there by the stormy waves of the Great Lake, my 
lad, and beaten into those strange and fantastic shapes 

50 


THROUGH THE HEART OF THE FOREST 


by the action of the wind. Doubtless ^tis the work 
of centuries of storms.” 

“Are we, then, so close to the lake?” I asked 
eagerly, — for I had never yet seen so large a body 
of water, and his description fired my imagination. 

“ ’T is but just beyond those dunes yonder, and 
will be still nearer when we come to camp. Possibly 
you might reach the shore before dark if you exercise 
care, — for there is danger of becoming lost in that 
sand desert. Those hills seem all alike when once 
you are among them.” 

“What is it that so greatly disturbs your Miamis?” 
I ventured to ask, for I had been noticing for some 
time that they were restless and travelling poorly. 
“ They have been counselling now for two hours.” 

He glanced aside at me in apparent surprise. 

“ Why, boy, I thought you were bred to the bor- 
der; and can you ask me such a question? Do you 
observe nothing, like that fine gentleman yonder? 
What have we been following since first we entered 
this valley? ” 

“An old Indian trail.” 

“ True,” he exclaimed, “ and one that has been 
traversed by a large war-party, bound west, within 
twelve hours.” 

“ How know you this? ” 

“ By a hundred signs far plainer than print will 
ever be to my eyes. In faith, I thought those fellows 

51 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


out yonder would have summoned me to council long 
ere this, instead of threshing it out among themselves. 
They are bolder warriors than I deemed, though they 
will doubtless revolt in earnest when we camp. We 
shall have to guard them well to-night.^* 

As he paused, his eyes fixed anxiously upon our 
Indian allies, De Croix began to hum a popular tune 
of the day, riding meanwhile, hat in hand, with one 
foot out of the stirrup to beat the time. Then Jordan 
caught up the refrain, and sang a verse. I saw one or 
two of the older Indians glance around at him in grave 
displeasure. 

‘‘The young fools!” muttered Wells, uneasily. 
“ I shall enjoy seeing if that French popinjay keeps all 
of his fine airs v/hen the hour for stern work comes.” 

He lifted his voice. 

“ Jordan!” 

The young soldier instantly ceased his song, and 
turned in his saddle to glance back. 

“ The time has come when I must insist on less 
noise, and more decorum upon the march,” Wells said 
sternly. “This is not Fort Wayne, nor is our road 
devoid of danger. Captain de Croix, I shall have to re- 
quest you also to cease your singing for the present.” 

There was that in his voice and manner which 
forbade remark, and we rode on silently. I asked: 

“But you have not explained to me how you 
learned all this of which you spoke?” 

52 


THROUGH THE HEART OF THE FOREST 

“ By the use of my eyes, of course. It is all 
simple; there are marks beside the beaten trail, as 
well as in its track, which prove clearly the party 
ahead of us to be moving westward, that it travelled 
rapidly, and was certainly not less than a hundred 
strong, with ponies and lodge-poles. Not more than 
a league back we passed the evidences of a camp that 
had not been deserted longer than twelve hours; and 
when we crossed the river, a feather from a war-bonnet 
was lying in the grass. These are small details, yet 
they tell the story. That feather, for instance, was 
dropped from a Pottawattomie head-dress, and no 
doubt there are warriors among those Indians yonder 
who could name the chief who wore it. It simply 
means, my lad, that the savages are gathering in 
toward Dearborn, and we may reach there all too 
late.” 

“ Is the way yet long? ” and my eyes sought the 
horizon, where the sun hung like a red ball of fire. 

“We should be there by the morrow,” he an- 
swered, “ for we are now rounding the head of the 
Great Lake. I wish to God I might see what fate 
awaits us there.” 

Young and thoughtless as I v/as in those days, I 
could not fail to realize the depth of feeling which 
swayed this stern, experienced man; and I rode on 
beside him, questioning no more. 


53 


CHAPTER VI 


FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH 



THINK it must be in the 
blood of all of New Eng- 
land birth to love the sea. 
They may never have seen 
it, nor even heard its wild, 
stern music ; yet the fas- 
cination of great waters is 
part of their heritage. The 
thought of that vast inland 
ocean, of the magnitude and sublimity of which I had 
only the vaguest conception, haunted me all that after- 
noon; and I scarcely removed my eyes from those 
oddly constructed mounds of drifted sand, striving 
vainly to gain, through some depression between them, 
a fleeting glimpse of the restless waters that had helped 
to shape them into such fantastic forms. 

As the sun sank, angry red in our faces, presaging 
a storm, the course of the little stream we had been 
following drew in closer toward these grotesque piles, 
and the trail we followed became narrower, with the 
sluggish current pressing upon one side and that odd 
^54 



FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH 

bank of gleaming sand upon the other. In a little open 
space, where quite a carpet of coarse yellowish grass 
had found lodgment, beneath the protecting shadow of 
a knot of cottonwoods, we finally made camp, and pro- 
ceeded to prepare our evening meal. Determined to 
strike north through those guarding sand-dunes, and 
reach the shore of the lake if possible before final 
darkness fell, I hastily crowded my pockets with food, 
and looked eagerly around for some congenial com- 
panion. Captain Wells, whom I should have preferred 
to be with me, was deep in conference with one of the 
Miami chiefs, and not to be disturbed; Jordan had 
seemingly been detailed to the command of the night- 
guard; so, as a last resort, I turned aside and sought 
De Croix. I found him seated cross-legged on a 
blanket beneath one of the cottonwoods, a silver- 
backed mirror propped against a tree-butt in his front, 
while the obsequious darkey was deliberately combing 
out his long hair and fashioning it anew. The French- 
man glanced up at me with a welcoming smile of rare 
good-humor. 

“ Ah, sober-face ! and have you at last mustered 
courage to break away from the commander of this 
most notable company?” he cried mockingly. “’T is 
passing strange he does not chain you to his saddle! 
By Saint Guise! ’t would indeed be the only way in 
which so dull a cavalier would ever hold me loyal to 
his whims. Friend Way land, I scarce thought you 
55 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


would ever thus honor me again; and yet, ’tis 
true, I have had an ambition within my heart ever 
since we first met. ’T is to cause you to fling aside 
those rough habiliments of the wilderness, and attire 
yourself in garments more becoming civilized man. 
Would that I might induce you, even now, to per- 
mit Sam to rearrange those heavy blond locks a ta. 
Pompadour^ Bless me ! but it would make a new man 
of you.” 

“ Such is not at all my desire. Monsieur,” I an- 
swered, civilly. “ I came now merely to learn if you 
would walk with me through these dunes of sand 
before the daylight fades.” 

He looked out, idly enough, across that dreary 
expanse of desolation, and shrugged his shoulders. 

“ Use the other powder, Sam, the lighter colored,” 
he murmurfed languidly, as if the sight had wearied 
him; “and mind you drop not so much as a pinch 
upon the waistcoat.” 

Then he lifted his eyes inquiringly to mine. 

“ For what? ” he asked. 

“To look forth upon the Great Lake. Captain 
Wells tells me ’t is but a brief and safe walk from, 
here to the shore-line.” 

“The lake? — water?” and the expression upon 
his face made me smile. Mon Diea, man! have you 
become crazed by the hard march? What have 
I ever said in our brief intercourse that could cause 

. 56 


FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH 

you to conceive I care greatly for that? If it were 
only wine, now ! ” 

“You have no desire to go with me, then?” 

“ Lay out the red tie, Sam ; no, the one with the 
white spots in it, and the small curling-iron. No, 
Monsieur; what you ask is impossible. I travel to 
the west for higher purpose than to gaze upon a 
heaving waste of water. Sacre I did I not have a full 
hundred days of such pleasure when first I left France? 
My poor stomach has not fairly settled yet from its 
fierce churning. Know ye not. Master Way land, that 
we hope to be at this Fort Dearborn upon the morrow, 
and ’t is there I meet again the fair Toinette? Saints! 
but I must look my best at such a time, not worn and 
haggard from tramping through the sand. She was 
ever a most critical maid in such matters, and has not 
likely changed. ’T is curled too high upon the right 
brow, you black imp! and, as I live, there is one hair 
you have missed entirely.” 

Realizing the uselessness of waiting longer, I 
turned my back upon his vanity, and strode off alone. 
It is not my nature to swerve from a purpose merely 
because others differ in desires; and I was now deter- 
mined to carry out my plan. I took one of the narrow 
depressions between two mounds of sand and plunged 
resolutely forward, endeavoring to shape my course 
as directly northward as the peculiarities of the path 
would admit. To my mind, there v/as little to fear 

57 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 

from the hostile Indians, as every sign proved them 
to be hastening westward in advance of us; while I 
was too long accustomed to adventure to be easily 
confused, even in the midst of that lonely desolation. 

I soon found the walking difficult; for I sank to 
the ankles with each step, while the soft sliding sand 
rolled beneath me so as to yield no solid foothold. 
The irregularity of the mounds continually blocked 
my passage, and caused me to deviate in direction, so 
that I grew somewhat bewildered, the entire surface 
bearing such uniformity of outline as to afford little 
guide. Yet I held to my original course fairly well, 
for I could pilot somewhat by the dim north star ; and 
it was not long before my alert ears caught the pound- 
ing of surf along the shore-line. Much encouraged, 
I pressed forward with greater rapidity, ignoring the 
lanes between the dunes, and clambering over the 
mounds themselves in my eagerness to reach the lake 
before the complete closing down of night. 

At last I topped a particularly high ridge that 
felt solid to the feet; and as I did so the wind came, 
hard and biting, against my face. There, just below 
me, not fifty feet away, were rolling the great waves, 
white-capped and roaring, pounding like vast sledges 
upon the anvil of the sand. My entire being thrilled 
at the majestic sight, and for the moment I forgot 
everything as I gazed away across those restless, 
heaving waters, seemingly without limit, stretching 

58 


FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH 

forth into the dim northward as far as the eye could 
reach, until water and sky imperceptibly met and 
blended. Each advancing wave, racing toward the 
beach, was a white-lipped messenger of mystery ; and 
the vast tumultuous sea, rolling in toward me out of 
that dark unknown, with its deep voice of thunder and 
high-bursting spray, breathed the sublimest lessons 
of the Infinite to my soul. It awed, impressed, si- 
lenced with the sense of its solemn power. No dream 
of ocean grandeur had ever approached the reality now 
outspread before me, as this vast inland sea tossed and 
quivered to the lashing of the storm-wind that swept 
its surface into fury. 

To the left and right of where I stood motionless, 
curved the shore-line, a seemingly endless succession 
of white shining sand-hills, with the sloping shingle up 
which the huge breakers tossed and rolled in continu- 
ous thunder and foam, rising, breaking, receding, chas- 
ing each other in gigantic play. How savagely strong it 
all looked ! what imcontrollable majesty lived in every 
line of the scene ! The very suggestion of tremendous 
power in it was, to my imagination, immeasurably 
increased by its unutterable loneliness, its seemingly 
total absence of life ; for not a fin rose above the sur- 
face, not a wing brushed the air overhead. The sun, 
sinking slowly behind the rim of sand, shot one 
golden-red ray far out into that tumbling waste, form- 
ing a slender bridge of ever-changing light that seemed 
59 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 

to rest suspended upon the breaking crests of the 
waves it spanned. Then, gradually, stealthily, silently, 
the denser curtain of the twilight drew closer and 
closer, and my vista narrowed, as the shadows swept 
toward me like black-robed ghosts. 

I turned about reluctantly, to retrace my steps 
while the dim light yet lingered. Some unseen angel of 
mercy it must have been that bade me pause, and led 
me gently down the steep bank to the water's edge, 
where the sharp spray lashed my cheeks. If this be 
not the cause, then I know not why I went; or why, 
once being there, I should have turned to the right, 
and rounded the edge of the little bay. Yet all of this 
I did; and God knows that many a time since I have 
thanked Him for it upon my knees. 

I saw first the thing bobbing up and down behind 
a bare wave-washed rock that lifted a hoary crown 
close beside the water's edge. A branch from off 
some tree, I thought, until I had taken a half-dozen 
curious steps nearer, and felt my heart bound as I 
knew it to be a boat. My first thought, of course, was 
of hostile Indians; and I swept the sand-hills anx- 
iously for any other sign of human presence. The 
world about me was soundless except for the ceaseless 
roaring of the waves, and there was not even a leaf 
within my sight to flutter. I crept forward cautiously, 
seeing no footprints on the smooth sand, until my 
searching eyes rested upon a white hand, dangling, 
6o 


FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH 

as if lifeless, over the boat’s gunwale. Forgetting 
everything else in the excitement of this discovery, I 
sprang hastily forward and peered within the boat. 

It was an awkward and rudely-formed water-craft, 
with neither mast nor oars, yet of fair size, broad- 
beamed and seaworthy. In the forward part lay the 
body of a woman; curled up and resting upon the 
boat’s bottom, the head buried upon the broad seat 
so that no face was visible, with one hand hidden 
beneath, the other outstretched above the rail. So 
huddled was her posture that I could distinguish few 
details in the fading light; yet I noted that she wore 
a white upper garment, and that her thick hair flowed 
in a dense black mass about her shoulders. 

For a moment I stood there helpless, believing I 
gazed upon death. She either moved slightly, or the 
waves rocked the boat so as to somewhat disturb her 
posture. That semblance of life sent my blood leaping 
once more within my veins, and I leaned over and 
touched her cautiously. 

“ Oh, go away ! Please go away ! ” she cried, not 
loudly, but with a stress of utterance that caused me 
to start back half in terror. ‘‘ I am not afraid of you, 
but either take my soul or go away and leave me.” 

“For whom do you mistake me?” I asked, my 
hand closing now over hers. 

“For another devil come out of the black night 
to torture me afresh ! ” she answered, never once mov- 

6i 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


ing even to my touch. “ Ah, what legions there must 
be to send forth so many after the soul of one poor 
girl! ’Tis not that I shrink from the end. Death! 
why, have I not died a hundred deaths already? Yet 
do I trust the Christ and Mother Mary. But why does 
the angel of their mercy hold back from me so long? ” 

Was she crazed, driven mad by some extremity 
of suffering at which I could only guess? That oarless 
boat, beached amid the desolation of sand and the 
waste of water, alone told a story to make the heart 
sick. I hesitated, not knowing what I had best say. 
She lifted her head slowly, and gazed at me. I caught 
one glimpse of a pale young face framed in masses of 
black dishevelled hair, and saw large dark eyes that 
seemed to glow with a strange fire. 

‘‘You, — you cannot be a devil also,” she said, 
stammeringly. “ You do not look like those others, — 
are you a man? ” 

I bowed in silence, astounded by her words and 
appearance. 

“ Yet you are not of the garrison, — not of Dear- 
born. I have never seen your face before. Yet you 
are surely a man, and white. Holy Mother! can it 
indeed be that you have come to save me? ” 

“ I am here to serve you by every means in my 
power,” I answered soberly, for the wildness of her 
speech almost frightened me. “ God, I truly think, 
must have led me to you.” 

62 


FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH 

Her wonderful eyes, questioning, anxious, doubt- 
ful, never once left my face. 

“Who are you? How came you here?” 

“ I am named John Wayland,” I replied, striving 
to speak as simply as might be, so that she would 
comprehend, “ and form one of a small party travelling 
overland from the east toward the Fort. We are en- 
camped yonder at the edge of the sand. I left the 
camp an hour ago, and wandered hither that I might 
look out upon the waters of the Great Lake ; and here, 
through the strange providence of God, I have found 
you.” 

She glanced apprehensively backward over her 
shoulder across the darkened v/aters, and her slight 
form shook. 

“ Oh, please, take me away from it I ” she cried, a 
note of undisguised terror in her voice, and her hands 
held out toward me in a pitiful gesture of appeal. 
“ Oh, that horrible, cruel water ! I have loved it in 
the past, but now I hate it; how horribly it has tor- 
tured me ! Take me away, I beg, — anywhere, so that 
I can neither see nor hear it any more. It has neither 
heart nor soul.” And she hid her face behind the 
streaming hair. 

“You will trust me, then?” I asked, for I had 
little knowledge of women. “ You will go with me? ” 

She flung the clinging locks back from her eyes, 
with an odd, imperious gesture which I thought most 

63 


when wilderness was king 


becoming, holding them in place with one hand, while 
extending the other frankly toward me. 

“ Go with you? Yes,” she replied, unhesitatingly. 
“ I have known many men such as you are, men of 
the border, and have always felt free to trust them; 
they are far more true to helpless womanhood than 
many a perfumed cavalier. You have a face that 
speaks of honor and manliness. Yes, I will go with 
you gladly.” 

I was deeply impressed by her sudden calmness, 
her rapid repression of that strange wildness of de- 
meanor that had at first so marked her words and 
manner. As I partially lifted her from the boat to 
the sand, she staggered heavily, and would have fallen 
had I not instantly caught her to me. For a single 
moment her dark eyes looked up confidingly into 
mine, as she rested panting against my shoulder, and 
I could feel her slender form tremble within my 
arms. 

“You are ill — faint?” I questioned anxiously. 

She drew back from me with all gentleness, and 
did not venture again to attempt standing entirely 
without support. 

“ I am ashamed so to exhibit my weakness,” she 
murmured. “ I fear I am greatly in need of food. 
What day is this? ” 

“ The twelfth of August.” 

“ And it was the night of the tenth when I drifted 
64 


FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH 

out of the mouth of the river. Ever since then I have 
been drifting, the sport of the winds and waves.” 

‘‘ Sit you down here, then,” I commanded, now 
fully awakened to her immediate need. “ The sand 
is yet warm from the sun, and I have food with me in 
my pockets.” 


5 


65 


CHAPTER VII 


A CIRCLE IN THE SAND 

HAVE since thought it al- 
most providential that my 
food supply was so limited; 
for, after first asking me if 
I had eaten all I required, 
she fell upon it like a fam- 
ished thing, and did not 
desist until all was gone. A 
threatening bank of dark 
cloud was creeping slowly up the northern sky as we 
were resting, but directly overhead the stars were shin- 
ing brilliantly, yielding me sufficient light for the study 
of her face. She was certainly less than my own age 
by two or three years, a girl barely rounding into the 
slender beauty of her earliest womanhood, with hints 
of both in face and form. She was simply dressed, as, 
indeed, might naturally be expected in a wilderness 
far removed from marts of trade; but her clothing 
was of excellent texture, and became her well in spite 
of its recent exposure, while a bit of rather expensive 
66 




A CIRCLE IN THE SAND 


lace at the throat and a flutter of gay ribbons about 
the wrists told plainly that she did not disdain the 
usual adornments of her sex. And this was quickly 
shown in another way. She had not yet completed 
her frugal meal when her mind reverted to her per- 
sonal appearance, and she paused, with heightened 
color, to draw back her loosened hair and fasten it in 
place with a knot of scarlet cord. It was surely a 
winsome face that smiled up at me then. 

‘‘ I feel almost guilty of robbery,” she said, ‘‘ in 
taking all this food, which was no doubt intended for 
your own supper.” 

“ Merely v/hat chanced to be left of it,” I an- 
swered heartily. Had I so much as dreamed this 
stretch of sand was to yield me such companionship, 
I should have stinted myself more.” 

An expression of bewildered surprise crept into 
her eyes as I spoke. 

“ Surely you are not a mere courear de hois, as I 
supposed from your dress,” she exclaimed. *‘Your 
expression is that of an educated gentleman.” 

I smiled; for I was young enough to feel the 
force of her unconscious flattery. 

‘‘ I believe I can prove descent from an old and 
honorable race,” I said ; “ but it has been my fortune 
to be reared in the backwoods, and whatever edu- 
cation has come to me I owe to the love and skill of 
my mother.” 


67 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


My frankness pleased her, and she made no at- 
tempt to disguise her interest. 

“ I am so glad you told me,’’ she said simply. 
“ My mother died when I was only ten, yet her 
memory has always been an inspiration. Are you a 
Protestant? ” 

This unexpected question took me by surprise; 
yet I answered unhesitatingly, Yes.” 

“ I was educated at the Ursuline Convent in Mon- 
treal. It was my mother’s dearest wish that I should 
take the vows of that order, but I fear I am far too 
frivolous for so serious a life. I love happy things too 
well, and the beautiful outside world of men and 
women. I ran away from the Sisters, and then my 
father and I voyaged to this country, where we might 
lead a freer life together.” 

“Here?” and I glanced questioningly about me 
into those darkening shadows which were momen- 
tarily hemming us in more closely. 

“ To Fort Dearborn,” she explained. “ We came 
by boat through the straits at the north; and ’twas 
a trip to remember. My father brought out goods 
from Canada, and traded with the Indians. I have 
been in their villages. Once I was a week alone with 
a tribe of Sacs near Green Bay, and they called me the 
White Queen. I have met many famous warriors of 
the Wyandot s and Pottawattomies, and have seen 
them dance at their council. Once I journeyed as far 
68 


A CIRCLE IN THE SAND 


west as the Great River, across leagues and leagues 
of prairie,” and her face lighted up at the remem- 
brance. “ Father said he thought I must be the first 
white woman who had ever travelled so far inland. 
We have been at Dearborn for nearly a year.” 

She rose to her feet, and swept her eyes, with 
some anxiety, around upon dim mounds of sand that 
appeared more fantastic than ever in the darkness. 

“Had we not better be going?” she asked. 
“There is surely a storm gathering yonder.” 

“ Yes,” I answered, for I had not been indifferent 
to the clouds steadily banking up in the north. “ Yet 
you have not told me your name, and I should be most 
glad to know it.” 

The girl courtesied mockingly, as though half 
inclined to laugh at my insistence. 

“What is a name?” she exclaimed. “’Tis not 
that for which v/e greatly care. Now I — I am simply 
Mademoiselle Antoinette, — at least, so most of those 
I care for call me; and from now on, the very good 
friend of Master John Wayland.” 

I was deeply conscious that I blushed at her 
words and manner; but with it there arose an instant 
query in my mind: could this be the fair Toinette 
whom De Croix sought so ardently? I greatly feared 
it; yet I resolved I would not mention his name to 
her. 

“It has a decided French sound,” I stammered. 

69 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


She laughed at my tone, with a quick shrug of 
her shoulders. 

“ And pray, why not. Monsieur? Have you such 
a prejudice against that great people that you need 
speak of them with so glum a voice? Ah, but if I 
must, then I shall endeavor to teach you a higher 
regard for us.’* 

“ That may not prove so hard a task,” I hastened 
to assure her ; “ though I was surprised, — you speak 
English with so pure an accent that I had not dreamed 
you other than of my own race.” 

‘‘ My father was of English blood,” she answered 
more gravely ; “ but I fear you will find me quite of 
my mother’s people, if ever we come to know each 
other well. But hark ! that was surely thunder ! 
We have loitered too long; the storm is about to 
break.” 

It was indeed upon us almost before she ceased 
speaking. A sudden rush of wind sent my hat fly- 
ing into the darkness, and whipped her long black 
hair loose from its restraining knot. I had barely 
time to wrap my hunting-jacket closely around her 
shoulders, when the rain came dashing against our 
faces. 

I drew her unresistingly around the edge of the 
nearest sand-pile; but this supplied poor protection 
against the storm, the wind lashing the fine grit into 
our faces, stinging us like bits of fire. I tried to ex~ 

70 


A CIRCLE IN THE SAND 

cavate some sort of cave that might afford us at least 
a partial shelter; but the sand slid down almost as 
rapidly as I could dig it out with my hands. 

“ Oh, let us press on ! ” she urged, laying her 
hand upon my arm in entreaty. “We shall become 
no wetter moving, and your camp, you said, was only 
a short distance away.” 

“ But are you strong enough to walk? ” And as 
I leaned forward toward her, a quick flash of vivid 
lightning, directly overhead, lit both our faces. I 
marked she did not shrink, and no look of fear came 
into her eyes. 

“ I am quite myself once more,” she answered 
confidently. “ It was despair and loneliness that so 
disheartened me. I have never been timid physically, 
and your presence has brought back the courage I 
needed.” 

There was a natural frankness, a peculiar confi- 
dence, about this girl, that robbed me of my usual 
diffidence; and as we struggled forward through the 
dampening sand, her dress clinging about her and 
retarding progress, I dared to slip one arm about her 
waist to help in bearing her along. She accepted this 
timely aid in the spirit with which it was offered, 
without so much as a word of protest ; and the wind, 
battering at our backs, pushed us forward. 

“ Oh, that troublesome hair ! ” she exclaimed, as 
the long tresses whipped in front of our faces, blinding 

71 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


us both. “ I have never before felt so much like sacri- 
ficing it.” 

“ I beg that you will not consider such an act 
now,” I protested, aiding her to reclaim the truants, 
“ for as I saw it before the darkness fell, your hair 
was surely worthy of preservation.” 

“You laugh at me; I know I must have been a 
far from pretty sight.” 

“ Do you wish me to say with frankness what I 
thought of your appearance under such disadvan- 
tages? ” 

She glanced at me almost archly, in the flash of 
lightning that rent the sky. 

“ I am really afraid to answer yes, — yet perhaps 
I am brave enough to venture it.” 

“ I have never been at court. Mademoiselle, and 
so you may not consider my judgment in such mat- 
ters of much moment ; but I thought you rarely 
beautiful.” 

For a moment she did not attempt to speak, but I 
could distinctly feel the heaving of her bosom as I 
held her hard against the assault of the wind, and 
bent low hoping to catch an answer. 

“ Y ou are sincere and honest,” she said at last, 
slowly, and I felt that the faint trace of mockery had 
utterly vanished from her soft voice. “ ’T is manifest 
in your face and words. You speak not lightly, nor 
with mere empty compliment, as would some gilded 
72 


A CIRCLE IN THE SAND 


courtiers I have known; and for that reason I do 
value your opinion.” 

“You are not angry at my presumption?” 

“Angry? — I?” and she stopped and faced me, 
holding back her hair as she did so. “ I am a woman, 
Monsieur; and all women, even those of us hidden 
here in the wilderness, like best those who admire 
them. I do not know that I am as beautiful as you 
say, yet other men have often said the same without 
being pressed for their opinion. No, I am not angry, 
— I am even glad to know you think so.” 

“And you surely do know?” I insisted, with a 
courage strange to me. 

“ Yes,” she answered, but her eyes fell before 
my eagerness ; “ you are not one who has yet learned 
to lie, even to women. ’T is a relief to know there are 
such men still in the world.” 

We had come to a full halt by this time. 

“ Do you have any idea where we may be? ” she 
asked, peering anxiously about, and perhaps glad to 
change the tone of our conversation. “I cannot note a 
landmark of any kind. These sand-hills seem all alike.” 

“ I believe we have kept to the southward, for 
we have merely drifted with the storm; but I confess 
my sole guidance has been the direction of the wind, 
as these sand-lanes are most confusing. If there were 
the slightest shelter at hand, I should insist upon your 
waiting until the rain was over.” 

73 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“ No, it is better to go on. I am now wet to the 
skin, and shall be warmer moving than resting on this 
damp sand.** 

We must have been moving for an hour, scarcely 
speaking a word, for the severe exertion required all 
our breath. The rain had ceased, and stars began 
to glimmer amid the cloud-rifts overhead ; but I knew 
now that we were lost. She stopped suddenly, and 
sank down upon the sand. 

“ I am exhausted,** she admitted, ** and believe 
we are merely moving about in a circle.** 

‘‘Yes,** I said, reluctantly; “we are wasting our 
strength to no purpose. *T will be better to wait for 
daylight here.** 

It was a gloomy place, and the silence of those 
vast expanses of desolate sand was overwhelming. 
It oppressed me strangely. 

“ Let me feel the touch of your hand,** she said 
once. “ It is so desperately lonely. I have been on 
the wide prairie, at night and alone; yet there is 
always some sound there upon which the mind may 
rest. Here the stillness is like a weight.** 

Possibly I felt this depressing influence the more 
because of my long forest training, where at least the 
moaning of limbs, fluttering of leaves, or flitting of 
birds brings relief to the expectant senses ; while here 
all was absolute solitude, so profound that our breath- 
ing itself was startling. The air above appeared 
74 


A CIRCLE IN THE SAND 


empty and void; the earth beneath, lifeless and dead. 
Although neither of us was cowardly of heart, yet we 
instinctively drew closer together, and our eyes 
strained anxiously over the black sand-ridges, now 
barely discernible through the dense gloom. We tried 
to talk, but even that soon grew to be a struggle, so 
heavily did the suspense rest upon our spirits, so 
oppressed were we by imaginings of evil. I remember 
telling her my simple story, gaining in return brief 
glimpses of her experiences in Canada and the farther 
West. She even informed me that orders had been 
received, the day before she became lost upon the lake, 
to abandon Fort Dearborn; that an Indian runner — 
whom she named Winnemeg — had arrived from 
General Hull at Detroit, bringing also news that 
Mackinac had fallen. 

“ Doubtless your absence has greatly worried 
them also,” I said. 

“ Oh, no ; none of them knew my plight. Pos- 
sibly som.e may miss me, but they will naturally sup- 
pose I have been at Mr. Kinzie’s house all this time. 
I have been there often for weeks together, and they 
have frequently urged me to take shelter with them. 
You see it is far safer there than at the Fort, for even 
the most hostile Indians remain on friendly teims 
with Mr. Kinzie and his family. He has been there 
so many years, and is so just a man in his dealings 
with them. is really strange to see how he leaves 

75 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


his house unguarded, while the garrison at the Fort 
is almost in a state of siege. It makes it hard to 
realize how imminent is the danger. Yet they are 
terribly alarmed at the Fort, and I fear with cause. 
Even Mr. Kinzie feels the situation to be critical. 
There were fully three hundred Pottawattomie war- 
riors encamped without the Fort two days ago; and 
they were becoming bold and impudent, — one chief 
even firing his gun in Captain Heald’s office, thinking 
to frighten him into furnishing them with liquor.” 

‘‘ But the Fort is strong? ” I asked. “ It is capable 
of resisting an attack? ” 

“ I should suppose so,” she answered, hesitat- 
ingly; “but that is not a matter upon which a girl 
may judge. I fear, however, all is not harmony among 
its defenders. I know that Captain Heald and Ensign 
Ronan do not agree, and I have heard bitter words 
spoken by other officers of the garrison.” 

I thought she did not care to speak more about 
this matter, and we drifted off upon other topics, until 
I felt her head sink slowly down upon my shoulder, 
and knew she slept. I sat there still, pillowing her 
tenderly upon my arm, when the gray light of the 
dawn stole slowly toward us across the ridges of sand 
and revealed the upturned face. 


CHAPTER VIII 


TWO MEN AND A MAID 

HE emotion I felt was new 
and strange to me ; for 
though I had known little 
of young women, yet as I 
looked upon her in that dim 
light of dawn I found myself 
wondering if I already loved 
this strange girl. Fair as 
her face certainly was, its 
beauty rendered even more striking by the pallor of 
her late exposure and the blackness of her dishevelled 
hair, it was her frankness and confidence which most 
appealed to me. She had held all my thoughts through 
the long hours of watchfulness as I sat there quietly, 
feeling the rise and fall of her regular breathing, and 
thrilled by the imconscious caress of stray tresses as 
they were blown against my cheek. How she trusted 
me, stranger though I was! Yet it was through no 
lack of knowledge of the great world of men, for this 
young girl had known court gallants and rough sol- 
diery, soft-spoken courtiers and boastful men-at-arms. 

77 




WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


So the night through I dreamed of what might be; 
and when the light finally came slowly reddening the 
eastern sky, I feasted my eyes unchecked upon that 
sweet upturned face, and made a rash vow that I 
v/ould win her heart. 

I was still mirroring her image in my memory, 
forgetful of all else, — the broad white brow, the long 
dark lashes resting in such delicate tracery against 
the smooth velvet of the cheek now slightly flushed, 
the witching pink of the ear, the softly parted lips 
between which gleamed the small and regular teeth 
of ivory, the round white throat swelling ever so 
slightly to her breathing, — when a sudden shout of 
surprised recognition aroused me from my reverie, 
and I looked up to see Jordan topping the sand-bank 
in our front, and waving his hand to some one beneath 
him and out of sight. 

“ See here, De Croix ! ** he cried, excitedly, “ the 
prodigal has had good cause to lag behind. He has 
found the lost fairy of this wilderness."’ 

Before I could relieve myself of my burden, — for 
the mockery of his words angered me, — the French- 
man appeared at his side, and glanced down where his 
companion’s finger pointed. For a moment he gazed ; 
then he murmured a sharp French oath, and strode 
heavily down the sand-bank. There was a look in his 
face that caused me to lay the girl’s head back upon 
the sand and rise hastily. The sudden movement 

78 


TWO MEN AND A MAID 


awoke her, and her dark eyes looked up in startled 
confusion. By this time I had taken a quick step for- 
ward, and faced De Croix. 

‘‘ This lady is under my protection,” I said, 
a bit hotly, not relishing the manner of his approach, 
“ and any disrespect from either of you will be 
unwarranted.” 

He paused, evidently surprised at my bold front, 
and his lip curled contemptuously. 

‘‘ Ah, my young game-cock ! ” he ejaculated, sur- 
veying me curiously. So you have spurs, and think 
you can use them? Well, I have no quarrel with you, 
but perchance I may have more reason to be the pro- 
tector of this young lady than you suppose. Stand 
aside. Monsieur.” 

She had risen from the sand, and now stood erect 
beside me. I saw Jordan grinning in great enjoyment 
of the scene, and that De Croix’s eyes were full of 
anger ; but I would not stir. In my heart I felt a dull 
pain at his words, a fear that they might prove too 
true ; but I remained where I was, determined to take 
no step aside until she herself should judge between us. 

“Will you stand back. Monsieur?” he said, 
haughtily, dropping his hand upon the hilt of his 
rapier, “ or shall I show you how a gentleman of 
France deals with such impertinence?” 

If he thought to affright me with his bravado, he 
reckoned ill of my nature, for I have ever driven badly ; 
79 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


my blood seems slow to heat, though it was warm 
enough now. 

** If the lady wishes it, you may pass,” I answered 
shortly, my eyes never leaving his face. “ Otherwise, 
if you take so much as another step I will crush every 
bone in your body.” 

He saw I meant it, but there was no cowardice in 
him; and the steel had already flashed in the sunlight 
to make good his threat, when she touched me gently 
upon the shoulder. 

“ I beg you do not fight,” she urged. “ I am not 
worthy, and ’t is all unneeded. Captain de Croix,” 
and she swept him a curtsey which had the grace of 
a drawing-room in it, “ ’t is indeed most strange that 
we should meet again in such a spot as this. No con- 
trast could be greater than the memory of our last 
parting. Yet is there any cause for quarrel because 
this young gentleman has preserved my life?” 

De Croix hesitated, standing half-poised for 
attack, even his glib tongue and ready wit failing as 
she thus calmly questioned him. Indeed, as I later 
learned, there was that of witchery about this young 
girl which held him at bay more effectually than if she 
had been a princess of the royal blood, — a something 
that laughed his studied art to scorn. She noted now 
his hesitancy, and smiled slightly at the evidence of 
her power. 

“Well, Monsieur, ’tis not often that your lips 
8o 


TWO MEN AND A MAID 


fail of words,” she continued, archly. “Why is it I 
am made the subject of your quarrel? ” 

The slight sarcastic sting in her voice aroused him. 

“By all the saints, Toinette!” he exclaimed, 
striving to appear at his ease, “this seems a poor 
greeting for one who has followed you through leagues 
of forest and across oceans of sand, hopeful at the 
least to gain a smile of welcome from your lips. Know 
you not I am here, at the very end of the world, for 
you?” 

“ I think it not altogether unlikely,” she replied 
with calmness. “You have ever been of a nature to 
do strange things, yet it has always been of your own 
sweet will. Surely, Monsieur, I did never bid you 
come, or promise you a greeting.” 

“ No,” he admitted regretfully, “ ’t is, alas, true ” ; 
and his eyes seemed to regain something of their old 
audacity. “But there was that about our parting, — 
you recall it, Toinette, in the shadow of the castle 
wall? — which did afford me hope. No one so fair 
as you can be without heart.” 

She laughed softly, as though his words recalled 
memories of other days, pressing back her hair within 
its ribbon. 

“ Such art of compliment seems more in place at 
Montreal than here. This is a land of deeds, not 
words. Monsieur. Yet, even though I confess your 
conclusion partially true, what cause does it yield 

6 8i 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


why you should seek a quarrel with my good friend, 
John Way land?** 

“You know him, then?** he asked, in quick 
astonishment. 

“ Know him ! Do you think I should be here 
otherwise? Fie, Captain de Croix, that you, the very 
flower of the French court, should express so poor 
a thought of one you profess to respect so highly ! ** 

He looked from one to the other of us, scarce 
knowing whether she were laughing at him or not. 

'^Sacrel^^ he exclaimed at last. “I believe it 
not. Mademoiselle. The boy would have boasted of 
such an acquaintance long before this. You know 
him, you say, — for how long? ** 

“ Since yester even, if you must know. But he 
has a face. Monsieur, a face frank and honest, not 
like that of a man long trained at courts to deceive. 
*T is for that I trust him, and have called him friend.** 

“ You may rue the day.** 

“ No, Captain de Croix,** she exclaimed, proudly. 
“ I know the frontiersmen of my father’s blood. They 
are brave men, and true of heart. This John Wayland 
is of that race.** And she rested one hand lightly upon 
my arm. 

The motion, simple as it was, angered him. 

“ You ask why I sought quarrel,** he said sternly. 
“ *T was because I suspected this uncouth hunter had 
wronged you. Now I understand *t was of your own 
82 


TWO MEN AND A MAID 


choice. I wish you joy, Mademoiselle, of your new 
conquest.’* 

I felt the girl’s slight form straighten, and saw his 
bold eyes sink beneath the flame of her look. 

“ Captain de Croix,” and every sentence stung like 
the lash of a whip, ‘‘ those are cowardly words, un- 
worthy a French gentleman and soldier. Did you 
leave all your courtesy behind in Montreal, or dream 
that in this wilderness I should cringe to any words 
you might speak? You wish the truth ; you shall have 
it. Three days ago, through an accident, I drifted, in 
an oarless boat, out from the river-mouth at Fort 
Dearborn to the open lake. None knew of my predic- 
ament. A storm blev/ me helpless to the southward, 
and after hours of exposure to danger, and great men- 
tal anguish, I was driven ashore amid the desolation 
of this sand. This comrade of yours found me scarce 
alive, ministered to my sore need, protected me 
through the hours of the night, stood but now between 
me and your ribaldry, counting his life but little beside 
the reputation of a woman. He may not wear the 
latest Paris fashions. Monsieur, but he has proved 
himself a man.” 

“ I meant not all I said, Toinette,” he hastened to 
explain. ‘‘ You will forgive, I know, for I was sorely 
hurt to find that some one else had done the duty that 
was plainly mine. Surely no rude backwoodsman is 
to come between us now?” 

83 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


She glanced from the one to the other, with true 
French coquetry. 

“ Faith, I cannot tell. Monsieur,” she said, gayly ; 
“ stranger things have happened, and ^t is not alto- 
gether fine clothes that win the hearts of maidens 
on this far frontier. We learn soon to love strength, 
and the manly traits of the border. On my word, 
Monsieur, this John Wayland seems to have rare 
powers of body; I imagine he might even have 
crushed you, as he said.” 

“Think you so?” he asked, eying me curiously. 
“Yet ’t is not always as it looks, Mademoiselle.” 

It came so quickly as to startle me. I was won- 
dering at the smile that curled his lips, when he sprang 
upon me, casting his arms around my waist, and twin- 
ing one leg about mine. The shock of this sudden 
and unexpected onset took me completely by surprise, 
and I gave back sharply, scarce realizing his purpose, 
till he had the under-hold, and sought to lift me for a 
throw. ’Twas my weight alone that saved me, to- 
gether with the rare good fortime that I had been 
leaning upon my gun. 

As the breath came back to me, we locked grimly 
in a fierce struggle for the mastery. I had felt the 
straining grip of strong arms before, but De Croix 
surprised me, — he was like steel, quick of motion as 
a wildcat, with many a cunning French wrestling 
trick that tried me sorely. I heard a quick excla- 
84 


TWO MEN AND A MAID 


mation of surprise from the girl, a shout of delighted 
approval from Jordan, and then there was no sound 
but the harsh trampling of our feet and the heavy 
breathing. De Croix’s effort was to lift me to his 
hip for a throw; mine, to press him backward by 
bodily strength. Both of us were sadly hindered by 
the sliding sand on which we strove. Twice I thought 
I had him, when my footing failed; and once he held 
me fairly uplifted from the ground, yet could not make 
the toss. ’T was a wild grapple, for when we had ex- 
hausted all the tricks we knew, it came to be a sheer 
test of physical endurance. Then, for the first time, 
I felt myself the master, — though he was a man, that 
gay French dandy, and never did my ribs crack under 
the pressure of a stronger hand. But I slowly pressed 
him back, inch by inch, struggling like a demon to the 
last, until I forced his shoulders to the sand. 

For a moment he lay there, panting heavily ; then 
the old frank and easy smile came upon his lips. 

“Your hand, monsieur,” he said; “that is, if it 
yet retains sufficient strength to lift me.” 

Upon his feet he brushed the sand from out his 
long hair, and bowed gallantly. 

“ I have done my very best. Mademoiselle. ’T is 
defeat, but not disgrace, for I have made your giant 
puff to win. May I not hope it has won me resto- 
ration to your good graces? ” 


85 


CHAPTER IX 


IN SIGHT OF THE FLAG 

T would have been impos- 
sible not to respond to his 
sparkling humor and good- 
nature, even had the girl 
been desirous of doing other- 
v/ise. From the first I felt 
that she liked this reckless 
courtier, whose easy words 
and actions made me realize 
more deeply than ever my own heaviness of thought 
and wit. 

As he stood there now, bowing low before her, 
his clothing awry and his long hair in disorder from 
our fierce contest, she smiled upon him graciously, and 
extended a hand that he was prompt enough to accept 
and hold. 

Surely,” she said mockingly, “ no maid, even in 
the glorious days of chivalry, had ever more heroic 
figures to do battle for her honor. I accept the amende. 
Monsieur, and henceforth enroll you as knight at my 
court. Upon my word,” and she looked about at the 

86 





IN SIGHT OF THE FLAG 


desolate sand-heaps surrounding us, ‘‘ ’t is not much 
to boast of here; nor, in truth, is Dearborn greatly 
better.*' 

She paused, drawing her hand gently from his 
grasp, and holding it out toward me. 

Yet, Captain,” she continued, glancing at him 
archly over her shoulder, “ I have likewise another 
knight, this wood ranger, who hath also won my deep 
regard and gratitude.” 

De Croix scowled, and twisted his short mus- 
tache nervously. 

“ You put a thorn beside every rose,” he muttered. 
** *T was your way in Montreal.” 

“ A few hundred miles of travel do not greatly 
change one’s nature. Either at Dearborn or Montreal, 
I am still Toinette. But, Messieurs, I have been told 
of a camp quite close at hand, — and yet you leave me 
here in the sand to famish while you quarrel.” 

The tone of her voice, while still full of coquetry, 
was urgent, and I think we both noted for the first 
time how white of face she was, and how wearily her 
eyes shone. The Frenchman, ever ready in such court- 
esies, was the first to respond by word and act. 

‘‘ You are faint, Toinette,” he cried, instantly for- 
getful of everything else, and springing forward to 
give her the aid of his arm. “ I beg you lean upon 
me. I have been blind not to note your weakness be- 
fore. *T is indeed not a long walk to our camp from 

87 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


here, — yet, on my life, I know nothing of where it 
lies. Jordan,” he added, speaking as if he were in 
command, lead back along the path we came. Sacre I 
the old bear was gruff enough over the delay of our 
search; he will be savage now.” 

I know not how Jordan ever found his way back, 
for the sliding sand had already obliterated all evi- 
dences of former travel; but I walked sullenly beside 
him, leaving De Croix to minister to the needs of the 
girl as best he might. I felt so dull beside his ready 
. tongue that, in spite of my real liking for the fellow, 
his presence angered me. ’T is strange we should 
ever envy in others what we do not ourselves possess, 
ignoring those traits of character we have which they 
no less desire. So to me then it seemed altogether 
useless to contend for the heart of a woman, — such a 
woman, at least, as this laughing Toinette, — against 
the practised wiles of so gay and debonair a cavalier. 
I steeled my ears to the light badinage they continued 
to indulge in, and ploughed on through the heavy sand 
at Jordan's heels, in no mood for converse with any 
one. 

We came upon the camp suddenly, and discovered 
Captain Wells pacing back and forth, his stern face 
dark with annoyance. At sight of me, his passion 
burst all restraint. 

“ By God, sir ! ” he ejaculated, “ if you were a 
soldier of mine, I would teach you what it meant to 
88 


IN SIGHT OF THE FLAG 


put us to such a wait as this ! Know you not. Master 
Way land, that the lives of helpless women and children 
may depend upon our haste? And you hold us here 
in idleness while you wander along the lake-shore 
like a moonstruck boy ! ” 

Before I could answer these harsh words, the girl 
stepped lightly to my side, and standing there, her 
hand upon my arm, smiled back into his angry eyes. 

I do not think he had even perceived her presence 
until that moment; for he stopped perplexed. 

** And am I not worth the saving. Monsieur le 
Capitaine,” she questioned, pouting her lips, “that 
you should blame him so harshly for having stopped 
to rescue me? ” 

His harsh glance of angry resentment softened as 
he gazed upon her. 

“Ah! was that it, then?” he asked, in gentler 
tones. “ But who are you? Surely you are not un- 
attended in this wilderness?” 

“ I am from Fort Dearborn,” she answered, “ and 
though only a girl. Monsieur, I have penetrated 
to the great West even farther than has Captain 
Wells.” 

“ How know you my name? ” f 

“ Mrs. Heald told me she believed you would 
surely come when you learned of our plight at the 
Fort, — it was for that she despatched the man Burns 
with the message, — and she described you so per- 

89 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


fectly that I knew at once who you must be. There 
are not so many white men travelling toward Dear- 
born now as to make mistake easy.” 

“And the Fort?” he asked, anxiously. “Is it 
still garrisoned, or have we come too late? ” 

“ It was safely held two days ago,” she answered, 
“ although hundreds of savages in v/ar-paint were then 
encamped without, and holding powv/ow before the 
gate. No attack had then been made, yet the officers 
talked among themselves of evacuating.” 

For a moment the stern soldier seemed to have 
forgotten her, his eyes fastened upon the western 
horizon. 

“ The fools ! ” he muttered to himself, seemdngly 
unconscious that he spoke aloud ; “ yet if I can but 
reach there in time, my knowledge of Indian nature 
may accomplish much.” 

He turned quickly, with a sharp glance over his 
military force. 

“ We delay no longer. Jordan, do you give this 
lady your horse for to-day’s journey, and go you for- 
ward on foot with the Miamis. Watch them closely, 
and mark well everything in your front as you 
move.” 

“ But, Captain Wells,” she insisted, as he turned 
away, “ I am exceedingly hungry, and doubt not this 
youth would also be much the better for a bit of food.” 

“ It will have to be eaten as you travel, then,” he 
90 


IN SIGHT OF THE FLAG 


answered, not unkindly, but with all his thought now 
fixed on other things, ‘‘ for our duty is to reach Dear- 
born at the first moment, and save those prisoned there 
from death, and worse.” 

I shall always remember each detail of that day’s 
march, though I saw but little of Toinette save in 
stolen glances backward. Wells keeping me close at 
his side, while De Croix, as debonair as ever, was 
her constant shadow, ministering assiduously to her 
wants and cheering her journey with agreeable dis- 
course. I heard much of their chatter, earnestly as 
I sought to remain deaf to it. To this end Wells 
aided me but little, for he rode forward in stem silence, 
completely absorbed in his own thoughts. 

During the first few hours we passed through a 
dull desolation of desert sand, the queerly shaped hills 
on either side scarcely breaking the dead monotony, 
although they often hid from our sight our advance 
scouts, and made us feel isolated and alone. Once or 
twice I imagined I heard the 'deepening roar of waves 
bursting upon the shore-line to our right, but could 
gain no glimpse of blue water through those obscuring 
dunes. We were following a well-worn Indian trail, 
beaten hard by many a moccasined foot; and at last 
it ran from out the coarser sand and skirted along the 
western beach, almost at the edge of the waves. ’T was 
a most delightful change from the cramped and nar- 
rowed vision that had been ours so long. Our faces 

91 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


were now set almost directly northward; but I could 
not withdraw my eyes from the noble expanse of water 
heaving and tumbling in the dazzling sunlight. In- 
deed, there was little else about our course to attract 
attention; the shore in front lay clear and unbroken, 
bearing a sameness of outline that v/earicd the vision ; 
each breaking wave was but the type of others that 
had gone before, and each jutting point of land was 
the picture of the next to follow. To our left, there 
extended, parallel to our course of march, a narrow 
ridge of white and firmly beaten sand, as regular in 
appearance as the ramparts of a fort. Here and there 
a break occurred where in some spring flood a sudden 
rush of water had burst through. Glancing curiously 
down these narrow aisles, as we rode steadily onward, 
I caught fleeting glimpses of level prairie land, green 
with waving grasses, apparently stretching to the west- 
ern horizon bare of tree or shrub. At first, I took this 
to be water also; until I realized that I looked out 
upon the great plains of the Illinois. 

The Captain was always chary of speech; now 
he rode onward with so stem a face, that presently I 
spoke in inquiry. 

“You are silent. Captain Wells,” I said. “One 
would expect some rejoicing, as we draw so close to 
the end of our long journey.” 

He glanced aside at me. 

“Wayland,” he said slowly, “I have been upon 
92 


IN SIGHT OF THE FLAG 


the frontier all my life, and have, as you know, lived 
in Indian camps and shared in many a savage cam- 
paign. I am too old a man, too tried a soldier, ever 
to hesitate to acknowledge fear; but I tell you now, 
I believe we are riding northward to our deaths.” 

I had known, since first leaving the Maumee, that 
danger haunted the expedition; yet these solemn 
words came as a surprise. 

“Why think you thus?” I asked, with newly 
aroused anxiety, my thoughts more with the girl be- 
hind than with myself. “ Mademoiselle Toinette tells 
me the Fort is strong and capable of defence, and 
surely we are already nearly there.” 

“ The young girl yonder with De Croix? It may 
be so, if it also be well provisioned for a long siege, 
as it is scarce likely any rescue party will be despatched 
so far westward. If I mistake not, Hull will have no 
men to spare. Yet I like not the action of the savages 
about us. ’T is not in Indian nature to hold off, as 
these are doing, and permit reinforcements to go by, 
when they might be halted so easily. ’T would ease 
my mind not a little were we attacked.” 

“ Attacked? by whom? ” 

He faced me with undisguised surprise, a sar- 
castic smile curling his grim mouth. His hand swept 
along the western sky-line. 

“ By those red spies hiding behind that ridge of 
sand,” he answered shortly. ‘‘Boy, where are your 

93 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


eyes not to have seen that every step we have taken 
this day has been but by sufferance of the Pottawat- 
tomies? Not for an hour since leaving camp have we 
marched out of shot from their guns ; it means treach- 
ery, yet I can scarce tell where or how. If they have 
spared us this long, there is some good Indian reason 
for it.” 

I glanced along that apparently desolate sand- 
bank, barely a hundred feet away, feeling a thrill of 
uneasiness sweep over me at the revelation of his 
words. My eyes saw nothing strange nor suspicious; 
but I could not doubt his well-trained instinct. 

“ It makes my flesh creep,” I admitted ; “ yet 
surely the others do not know. Hear how the French- 
man chatters in our rear ! ” 

“ The young fool ! ” he muttered, as the sound of 
a light laugh reached us ; “ it will prove no jest, ere 
we are out of this again. Yet, Wayland,” and his 
voice grew stronger, “ the red devils must indeed mean 
to pass us free, — for there is Fort Dearborn, and, un- 
less my sight deceive me, the flag is up.” 

I lifted my eyes eagerly, and gazed northward 
where his finger pointed. 


94 


CHAPTER X 


A LANE OF PERIL 

E passed a group of young 
cottonwoods, the only trees 
I had noted along the shore; 
and a few hundred feet 
ahead of us, the ridge of 
sand, which had obscured 
our westward view so long, 
gradually fell away, permit- 
ting the eye to sweep across 
the wide expanse of level plain until halted by a dis- 
tant row of stunted trees that seemed to line a stream 
of some importance. As Captain Wells spoke, my 
glance, which had been fixed upon these natural ob- 
jects, was instantly attracted by a strange scene of 
human activity that unfolded to the north and west. 

The land before us lay flat and low, with the 
golden sun of the early afternoon resting hot upon it, 
revealing each detail in an animated panorama wherein 
barbarism and civilization each bore a conspicuous 
part. The Fort was fully a mile and a half distant, 
and I could distinguish little of its outward appear- 
95 




WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


ance, save that it seemed low and solidly built, like 
a stockade of logs set upon end in the ground. It 
appeared gloomy, grim, inhospitable, with its gates 
tightly closed, and no sign of life anywhere along its 
dull walls; yet my heart was thrilled at catching the 
bright colors of the garrison flag as the western 
breeze rippled its folds against the blue background 
of the sky. 

But it was outside those log barriers that our 
eyes encountered scenes of the greatest interest, — a 
mingling of tawdry decoration and wild savagery, 
where fierce denizens of forest and plain made their 
barbaric show. 

No finer stage for such a spectacle could well 
be conceived. Upon one side stretched the great waste 
of waters; on the other, level plains, composed of 
yellow sand quickly merging into the green and brown 
of the prairie, while, scattered over its surface, from 
the near lake-shore to the distant river, were figures 
constantly moving, decked in gay feathers and daubed 
with war-paint. Westward from the Fort, toward the 
point where a branch of the main river appeared to 
emerge from the southward, stood a large village of 
tepees, the sun shining yellow and white on their deer- 
skin coverings and making an odd glow in the smoke 
that ciurled above the lodge-poles. From where we 
rode it looked to be a big encampment, alive with 
figures of Indians. My companion and I both noted, 
96 


A LANE OF PERIL 


and spoke together of the fact, that they all seemed 
braves; squaws there may have been, but of children 
there were none visible. 

Populous as this camp appeared, the plain stretch- 
ing between it and us was literally swarming with 
savages. A few were mounted upon horses, riding 
here and there with upraised spears, their hair flying 
wildly behind them, their war-bonnets gorgeous in 
the sunshine. By far the greater number, however, 
were idling about on foot, stalwart, swarthy fellows, 
with long black locks, and half-naked painted forms. 
One group was listening to the words of a chief; 
others were playing at la crosse; but most of them 
were merely moving restlessly here and there, not 
unlike caged wild animals, eager to be free. 

I heard Captain Wells draw in his breath sharply. 

“ As I live ! ” he ejaculated, “ there can be scarce 
less than a thousand warriors in that band, — and 
no trading-party either, if I know aught of Indian 
signs.” 

Before I could answer him, even had I any word 
to say, a chief broke away from the gathering mass 
in our immediate front, and rode headlong down upon 
us, bringing his horse to its haunches barely a yard 
away. 

He was a large, sinewy man, his face rendered 
hideous by streaks of yellow and red, wearing a high 
crown of eagle feathers, with a scalp of long light- 

7 97 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


colored hair, still bloody, dangling at his belt. For 
a moment he and Captain Wells looked sternly into 
each other’s eyes without speaking. Then the savage 
broke silence. 

“ Wau-mee-nuk great brave,” he said, sullenly, 
in broken English, using Wells’s Indian name, “but 
him big fool come here now. Why not stay with Big 
Turtle? He tell him Pottawattomie not want him 
here.” 

“ Big Turtle did tell me,” was the quiet answer, 
“ that the Pottawattomies had made bad medicine and 
were dancing the war-dance in their villages; but I 
have met Pottawattomies before, and am not afraid. 
They have been my friends, and I have done them 
no wrong.” 

He looked intently at the disguised face before 
him, seeking to trace the features. “ You are Top- 
enebe,” he said at last. 

“ True,” returned the chief, with proud gravity. 
“You serve me well once; for that I come now, and 
tell you go back, — there is trouble here.” 

Wells’s face darkened. 

“ Have I ever been a coward,” he asked indig- 
nantly, “ that I should turn and run for a threat? 
Think you, Topenebe, that I fear to sing the death- 
song? I have lived in the woods, and gone forth with 
your war-parties; am I less a warrior, now that I 
fight with the people of my own race? Go take your 
98 


A LANE OF PERIL 


warning to some squaw ; we ride straight on to Dear- 
born, even though we have to fight our way.” 

The Indian glanced, as Wells pointed, toward the 
Fort, and sneered. 

“ All old women in there,” he exclaimed derisively. 
“ Say this to-day, and that to-morrow. They shut the 
gates now to keep Indian on outside. No trade, no 
rum, no powder, — just lies. But they no keep back 
our young men much longer.” His face grew dark, 
and his eyes angrj^ 

“ Why you bring them? ” he asked hotly, desig- 
nating our escort of Miamis, already shrinking from 
the taunts of the gathering braves. “ They dog In- 
dians, bad medicine; they run fast when Pottawat- 
tomie come.” 

“ Don’t be so certain about that, Topenebe,” re- 
torted Wells, shortly. “ But we cannot stop longer 
here; make way, that we may pass along. Jordan, 
push on with your advance through that rabble 
there.” 

The Indian chief drew his horse back beside the 
trail, and we moved slowly forward, our Indian guides 
slightly in advance, and exhibiting in every action the 
disinclination they felt to proceed, and their constantly 
increasing fear of the wild horde that now resorted 
to every means in their power, short of actual violence, 
to retard their progress. As they closed in more 
closely around us, taunting the Miamis unmercifully, 

99 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


even shaking tomahawks in their faces, with fierce 
eyes full of hatred and murder, I drew back my horse 
until I ranged up beside Mademoiselle Antoinette, and 
thus we rode steadily onward through that frenzied, 
howling mass, the girl between De Croix and me, who 
thus protected her on either side. 

It was truly a weary ride, full of insult, and per- 
chance of grave peril had we faced that naked mob 
less resolutely. Doubtless the chiefs restrained their 
young men somewhat, but more than once we cam*e 
within a hair’s-breadth of serious conflict. They 
hemmed us in so tightly that we could only walk our 
horses; and twice they pressed upon Jordan so hard 
as to halt him altogether, bunching his cowardly 
Miamis, and even striking them contemptuously with 
their blackened sticks. The second time this occurred. 
Captain Wells rode forward to force a path, driving 
the spurs into his horse so quickly that the startled 
animal fairly cut a lane through the crowded savages 
before they could draw back. Naught restrained them 
from open violence but their knowledge of that stern- 
faced swarthy soldier who fronted them with such 
dauntless courage. Hundreds in that swarm had seen 
him before, when, as the adopted son of a great war- 
chief of the Miamis he had been at their side in many 
a wild foray along the border. 

‘‘ Wau-mee-nuk, the white chief,” passed from lip 
to lip; and sullenly, slowly, reluctantly, the frenzied 


100 


A LANE OF PERIL 

red circle fell back, as he pressed his rearing horse full 
against them. 

How hideous their painted faces looked, as we 
slowly pushed past them, their lips shrieking insult, 
their sinewy hands gripping at our stirrups, their bran- 
dished weapons shaken in our faces. With firm-set 
lips and watchful eyes I rode, bent well forward, so as 
best to protect the girl, my rifle held across my saddle 
pommel. Twice some vengeful arm struck me a 
savage blow, and once a young devil with long matted 
hair hanging over his fierce eyes thrust a sharpened 
stake viciously at the girl’s face. I struck with quick- 
clinched hand, and he reeled back into the mass with 
a sharp cry of pain. My eyes caught the sudden 
dazzle, as De Croix whipped out his rapier. 

“ Not that. Monsieur ! ” I cried hastily, across her 
horse’s neck. ‘‘ Use the hilt, not the blade, unless you 
wish to die.” 

He heard me above the clamor, and with a quick 
turn of the weapon struck fiercely at a scowling brave 
who grasped at his horse’s rein. He smiled pleasantly 
across at me, his fingers twisting his small mustache. 

“ ’T is doubtless good advice, friend Wayland,” he 
said, carelessly, “but these copper-colored devils are 
indeed most annoying upon this side, and I may lose 
my temper ere we reach the gate.” 

“ For the sake of her who rides between us, I 
beg that you hold in hard. Monsieur,” I answered. 
lOI 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“’T would be overmuch to pay, I imagine, for a hot 
brain.” 

I glanced at her as I spoke, scarcely conscious 
even then that I had removed my eyes from the threat- 
ening mob that pressed me, though I know I must 
have done so, for I retain the picture of her yet. She 
rode facing me, although her saddle was of the old 
army type with merely a folded blanket to soften its 
sharp contours, and her foot could barely find firm 
support within the narrow strap above the wooden 
stirrup. She sat erect and easily, swaying gently to 
the slow step of the horse. Her face was pale, but 
there was no evidence of timidity in her dark eyes, 
and she smiled at me as our glances met. 

“You are surely a brave girl. Mademoiselle!” I 
exclaimed, unable to restrain my admiration. “ *T is 
a scene to try any nerves.” 

“Yet almost worth the danger,” she returned 
softly, “to realize what men can be in such stress of 
need. You are the real — Beware of that half-breed. 
Monsieur ! ” 

Her last words were a quick warning, yet my eyes 
were already upon the fellow, and as he dodged down, 
knife in hand, to aim a vicious lunge at the forward leg 
of her horse, I brought the stock of my rifle crunch- 
ing against his shoulder. The next instant we had 
passed over his naked body as he lay gasping in the 
trail. 


102 


A LANE OF PERIL 


“ See ! ” she cried, with eagerness. “ The gates 
are opened ! ** 

We were possibly a hundred yards from the 
southern front of the stockade, when I glanced for- 
ward and saw the level ground between a seething 
mass of savage forms, so densely wedged together 
as to block further progress. I could see hundreds of 
brown sinewy arms uplifted from a sea of faces to 
brandish weapons of every description, and marked 
how the Miamis cowered like whipped curs behind 
the protection of Wells’s horse, while close beside 
him stood Jordan, erect and silent as if on parade, a 
rifle grasped in his hands, his head bare, a great welt 
showing redly across his white forehead. 

A little party, hardly more than twenty infantry- 
men, marched steadily out from the open gateway of 
the Fort. The first file bore bayonets fixed upon their 
guns, and the naked savages fell slowly back before 
the polished steel. It was smartly done, and it thrilled 
my blood to note with what silent determination that 
small band of disciplined men pressed their way on- 
ward, passing through the threatening mass of red- 
skins as indifferently as if they had been forest trees. 
A young, smooth-faced fellow, wearing a new officer’s 
uniform, led them, sword in hand, a smile of light con- 
tempt upon his lips. 

“ Clear the space wider, Campbell ! ” he said 
sternly, to the big corporal at his side. “ Swing your 
103 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 

files to left and right, and push the rabble out of the 
way.” 

They did it with the butts of their guns, laughing 
at the brandished knives and tomahawks and the fierce 
painted faces that scowled at them, paying no apparent 
heed to the taunts and insults showered from every 
side. There were some stones thrown, a few blows 
were struck, but no rifle-shot broke the brief struggle. 
The young officer strode forward down the open space, 
and fronted our advance. 

“ I presume this is Captain Wells, from Fort 
Wayne?” he said, lifting his cap as he spoke. 

“ It is,” was the reply, “ and I am very glad to 
find that you still hold Fort Dearborn.” 

The other’s frank and boyish face darkened 
slightly, as if at an unpleasant memory. 

‘‘ ’T is no fault of some,” he muttered hastily ; 
then he checked himself. We are glad to greet you. 
Captain Wells,” he added, in a more formal tone, 
glancing about upon us, ‘‘ and your party. I am En- 
sign Ronan, of the garrison; and if you will kindly 
pass between my guard lines, you will* find Captain 
Heald awaiting you within.” 

Thus we rode freely forward, with the guarding 
soldiery on either side of us, their faces to the howling 
savages ; we passed in at the great southern gate, and 
halted amid the buildings of old Fort Dearborn. 


104 


CHAPTER XI 


OLD FORT DEARBORN 

T makes my old head dizzy 
to recall the events of that 
hour across the years that 
have intervened. Possibly 
I, as I write these words, am 
the only person living who 
has looked upon that old 
stockade and taken part in 
its tragic history. What a 
marvellous change has less than a century ^witnessed ! 
Once the outermost guard of our western frontier, it is 
now the site of one of the great cities of two continents. 
To me, who have seen these events and changes, it 
possesses more than the wonderment of a dream. , 
That day, as I rode forward, I saw but little of 
the Fort’s formation, for my eyes and thoughts were 
so filled with those frenzied savages that hemmed us 
about, and the cool deploym.ent of the fev/ troops that 
guarded our passage-way, that everything else made 
but a dim impression. Yet the glimpse I obtained, 
even at that exciting moment, together with the. sub- 
sequent experiences that came to me, have indelibly 

105 



WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 

impressed each detail of the rude Fort upon my 
memory. 

It stands before me now, clear-cut and prominent, 
its outlines distinct against the backgroimd of blue 
water or green plains. In that early day the Fort was 
a fairly typical outpost of the border, like scores of 
others scattered at wide and irregular intervals from 
the Carolina mountains upon the south to the joining 
of the great lakes at the north, forming one link in the 
thin chain of frontier fortifications against Indian 
treachery and outbreak. It bore the distinction, 
among the others, of being the most advanced and 
exposed of all, and its small garrison was utterly 
isolated and alone, a forlorn hope in the heart of the 
great wilderness. 

The Fort had been erected nine years before our 
arrival, upon the southern bank of a dull and sluggish 
stream, emptying into the Great Lake from the west, 
and known to the earlier French explorers as the river 
Chicagou. The spot selected was nearly that where 
an old-time French trading-post had stood, although 
the latter had been deserted for so long that no rem- 
nant of it yet lingered when the Americans first took 
possession, and its site remained only as a vague tra- 
dition of those Indian tribes whose representatives 
often visited these waters. 

The earliest force despatched by the government 
to this frontier post erected here a simple stockade 
io6 


OLD FORT DEARBORN 


of logs. These were placed standing on end, firmly 
planted in the ground and extending upward some fif- 
teen feet, their tops sharpened as an additional pro- 
tection against savage assailants. This log stockade 
was built quite solid, save for one main entrance, 
facing to the south and secured by a heavy, iron- 
studded gate, with a subterranean or sunken pas- 
sage leading out beneath the north wall to the river, 
protected by a door which could be raised only from 
within. The enclosure thus formed was sufficiently 
large to contain a somewhat restricted parade-ground, 
about which were grouped the necessary buildings 
of the garrison, the quarters for the officers, the sol- 
diers’ barracks, the commandant’s office, the guard- 
house, and the magazine. These rude structures were 
built in frontier style, of cleaved logs, and with one ex- 
ception were but a single story in height, so that their 
roofs of rived shingles were well below the protection 
of the palisade of logs. Besides these interior build- 
ings, two block-houses were built, each constructed so 
that the second story overhung the first, one of them 
standing at the southeast and one at the northwest cor- 
ner of the palisaded walls. A narrow wooden support, 
or walk, accessible only from one or the other of these 
block-houses, enabled its defenders to stand within the 
enclosure and look out over the row of sharpened logs. 

At the time of our arrival the protective armament 
of this primitive Fort, besides the small-arms of the 
107 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


garrison, consisted of three pieces of light artillery, 
brass six-pounders of antique pattern, relics of the 
Revolution. Outside the Fort enclosure, only a few 
yards to the west along the river bank, stood the 
agency building, or, as it was often termed, “ goods 
factory,” built for purposes of trading with the In- 
dians, so that it would not be necessary to open the 
Fort to them. This agency building was a rather large 
two-story log house, not erected for any purposes of 
defence. Along the southern side of the stream, in 
both directions, the soldiers had excavated numerous 
root-houses, or cellars, in which to store the products 
of their summer gardens, — these excavations fairly 
honeycombing the bank. 

Such was Fort Dearborn in August of the fatal 
year 1812. It stood ugly, rude, isolated, afar from 
any help in time of need. Its nearest military neighbor 
lay directly across the waters of the Great Lake, 
where a small detachment of troops, scarcely less iso- 
lated than itself, garrisoned a similar stockade near 
the mouth of the river Saint Joseph. To the west- 
ward, the vast plains, as yet scarce pressed by the ad- 
venturous feet of white explorers, faded away into a 
mysterious unknown country, roamed over by count- 
less tribes of savages; to the northward lay an un- 
broken wilderness for hundreds of leagues, save for 
a few scattered traders at Green Bay, until the military 
outpost at Mackinac was reached; to the eastward 
108 


OLD FORT DEARBORN 


rolled the waters of the Great Lake, storm-swept and 
unvexed by keel of ship, an almost unsurpassable 
barrier, along whose shore adventurous voyagers crept 
in log and bark canoes ; while to the southward alter- 
nating prairie and timber-land stretched away for 
unnumbered leagues the Indian hunting-grounds, — 
broken only by a few scattered settlements of French 
half-breeds. 

From the walls of the Fort the eye ranged over a 
dull and monotonous landscape, nowhere broken by 
signs of advancing civilization or even of human 
presence. A few hundred yards to the east the waves 
of Lake Michigan broke upon the wide, sandy beach, 
whence the tossing waters stretched away in tumult- 
uous loneliness to their blending with the distant sky. 
Southward, along the shore of the lake, the nearly 
level plain, brown and sun-parched, soon merged into 
rounded heaps of wind-drifted sand, barely diversified 
by a few straggling groups of cottonwoods. To the 
westward extended the boundless prairie, flat and bare 
as a floor, except where the southern fork of the little 
river cut its way through the soft loam, and gave rise 
to a scrubby growth of cottonwood and willow ; while 
northward, across the main body of the river, the land 
appeared more rugged and broken, and somewhat 
heavily wooded with oak and other forest trees, but 
equally devoid of evidences of habitation. 

In all this wide survey from the little knoll on 
109 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


which the Fort stood, five houses only were visible. 
These were built roughly of logs in the most primitive 
style of the frontier, and, with a single exception, 
were now deserted by their occupants, who had re- 
treated for safety to the stockade of the Fort. The 
single exception was the larger and more ambitious 
dwelling standing on the north bank of the river, 
occupied by John Kinzie and his family, himself an 
old-time Indian trader, whose honesty and long dealing 
with the savages had made him confident of their 
friendship and fidelity. At one time, however, so 
threatening had become the strange bands that flocked 
in toward Dearborn, as crows to a feast, he also de- 
serted his home, and, with those dependent upon him, 
sought refuge within the Fort walls; but, influenced 
by the pledge of the Pottawattomies, and believing that 
safety lay in trusting to their friendship, they had 
returned to their own house. The other cabins were 
scattered to the westward of the stockade, close to the 
river bank. These dwellings had been occupied by the 
families of Ouilmette, Burns, and Lee, respectively; 
while the last named owned a second cabin, built some 
distance up the south branch of the river, and occupied 
by a tenant named Liberty White. 

The prospect was in truth depressing to one ac- 
customed to other and more civilized surroundings. 
A spirit of loneliness, of fearful isolation, seemed to 
hover over the restless waters upon the one hand, and 


no 


OLD FORT DEARBORN 


those vast silent plains on the other ; sea and sky, sky 
and sand, met the wearied eye wherever it wandered. 
The scene was unspeakably solemn in its immensity 
and loneliness; while irresistibly the thought would 
wander over those fateful leagues of prairie and forest 
that stretched unbrokenly between this far frontier 
and the few scattered and remote settlements that 
were its nearest neighbors. 

It was not until some time later that these sombre 
reflections pressed upon me with all their force. After 
the excitement of our first boisterous greeting was 
over, and I found opportunity to lean across the top 
of the guarded stockade and gaze alone over the deso- 
late spectacle I have endeavored to describe, I could 
feel more acutely the hopelessness of our situation and 
the danger threatening us from every side. But at the 
moment of our entrance, all my interest and attention 
had been centred upon the scenes and persons imme- 
diately about me. It was my first experience within the 
stockaded walls of an armed government post. The 
scene was new to my young senses, and, in spite of the 
excitement that still heated my blood, I looked upon it 
with such absorbing interest as to be forgetful for the 
moment even of the fair girl who rode in at my side. 

The dull clang of the heavy iron-bound gate be- 
hind us was a welcome sound after the fierce buffet- 
ings of our perilous passage ; yet it only partially shut 
off the savage bowlings, while above the hideous 


III 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


uproar came the sharp reports of several guns. But 
the instant bustle and confusion within scarcely al- 
lowed opportunity to notice this disorder; moreover, 
there had come to us a sense of safety and security, 
— we were at last within the barriers we had struggled 
so long to gain. However the savage hordes might 
rage without, we were now beyond their reach, and 
might take breath again. 

Our little party, closely bunched together, with 
Wells and the timorous Miamis at its head, surged 
quickly through between the bars, and came to a halt in 
an open space, evidently the parade-ground of the gar- 
rison, the bare earth worn smooth and hard by the 
trampling of many feet. A tall flag-pole rose near the 
centre, and the wavering shadow of the banner at its top 
extended to the eastern edge of the enclosure. Out from 
the log-houses which bordered this enclosure there 
came a group of people to welcome us, — officers and 
soldiers, women neatly dressed and with bright intelli- 
gent faces, women of rougher mould attired in calico 
or deerskin, hardy-looking men in rude hunter’s garb, 
picturesque French voyageurs wiry of limb and dark 
of skin, an Indian or two, silent, grave, emotionless, 
a single negro, and trailing behind them a number of 
dirty, delighted children, and dogs of every breed and 
degree. It was a motley gathering, and appeared 
almost like a multitude as it hurried forth into the 
open parade-ground, and surged joyfully about us, all 


II2 


OLD FORT DEARBORN 


eager to welcome us to Dearborn, and hopeful that 
we brought them encouragement and relief. We were 
of their own race, a link between them and the far- 
distant East ; and our coming told them they were not 
forgotten. 

The odd commingling of tongues, the constant 
crowding and scraps of conversation, the volley of 
questioning from every side, was confusing and unin- 
telligible. I could gain only glimpses here and there 
of what was going on; nor was I able to judge with 
any accuracy of the number of those present. I looked 
down upon their appealing, anxious faces, with a sad 
heart. In some way the sight of them brought back 
thoughts of the savage, howling mob without, clamor- 
ing for blood, through which we had won our passage 
by sheer good-fortune; of those leagues of imtracked 
forest amid whose glooms we had ploughed our way. 
I thought of these things as I gazed upon the helpless 
women and children thronging about me, and my heart 
sank as I realized how great indeed was the burden 
resting upon us all, how frail the hope of safety. 
Death, savage, relentless, inhuman death in its most 
frightful guise with torture and agony unspeakable, 
lurked along every mile of our possible retreat; nor 
could I conceive how its grim coming might long be 
delayed by that palisade of logs. We were hopeless 
of rescue. We were alone, deserted, the merest hand- 
ful amid the unnumbered hordes of the vast West. 

8 113 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


Swift and terrible as this conception was when it 
swept upon me, it grew deeper as I learned more fully 
the details of our situation. 

Just in front of where I lingered in my saddle, the 
crush slightly parted, and I noticed a tall man step 
forward, — a fair man, having a light beard slightly 
tinged with gray, and wearing the undress uniform 
of a captain of infantry. A lady, several years his 
junior, stood at his side, her eyes bright with expec- 
tancy. At sight of them. Captain Wells instantly 
sprang from his horse and hastened forward, his dark 
face lighted by one of his rare smiles. 

“ Captain,” he exclaimed, clasping the officer’s 
hand warmly, and extending his other hand in greet- 
ing to the lady, “I am glad indeed to have reached 
you in time to be of service; and you, my own dear 
niece, — may we yet be permitted to bring you safely 
back to God’s country.” 

I was unable to catch the reply of either; but I 
noted that the lady flung her arms about the speaker’s 
neck and kissed his swarthy cheek. 

Then Captain Wells spoke more loudly, so that 
his words reached my ears. 

‘‘ But, Heald,” he said, ** what means all this litter 
of garrison equipment lying scattered about? Surely 
you have no present intention to leave the Fort, in face 
of that savage mob out yonder? ” 

“ ’T is the orders of General Hull,” was the low 
1 14 


OLD FORT DEARBORN 


and somewhat hesitating response, “ and the Potta- 
wattomie chiefs have pledged us escort around the 
head of the lake. But this is no place to discuss the 
matter. As soon as possible I would speak with you 
more fully in my office.” 

The look of undisguised amazement upon Wells’s 
face startled me ; and as I glanced about me, wonder- 
ing whom I might take counsel with, I was astonished 
to note the horse that Toinette had ridden standing 
with empty saddle. De Croix, negligently curling his 
mustache between his slender fingers, gazed at me 
with a blank stare. 

“Where is Mademoiselle?” I questioned anx- 
iously, as he remained silent. “ Surely she was with 
us as we came in ! ” 

“ Pish ! of course,” he returned carelessly ; “ if 
she chooses to dismount and rejoin her friends, what 
has that to do with John Way land? Cannot the girl 
so much as move without your permission. Monsieur?” 

The words were insolent, not less than the man- 
ner that accompanied them. Instantly there flashed 
upon me the thought that this Frenchman sought a 
quarrel with me ; but I could conceive no reason there- 
for, and was not greatly disposed to accommodate 
him. 

“ ’T was no more than curiosity that urged my 
question,” I answered, assuming not to notice his 
bravado. “ I was so deeply interested in other things 
as to have forgotten her presence.” 

115 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


Something no lady is ever likely to forgive,” he 
interjected. “ But what think you they propose doing 
with us here? ” 

As if in direct answer to his question, the young 
officer who had met us without now elbowed his 
way through the throng, until he stood at our horses’ 
heads. 

Gentlemen,” he said, with a quick glance into 
our faces, ‘‘ dismount and come within. There is but 
little to offer you here at Dearborn, we have been cut 
off from civilization so long; but such as we possess 
will be shared with you most gladly.” 

De Croix chatted with him in his easy, familiar 
manner, as we slowly crossed the parade; while I 
followed them in silence, my thoughts upon the dis- 
appearance of Toinette and the Frenchman’s sudden 
show of animosity. My glance fell upon the groups 
of children scattered along our path, and I wondered 
which among them might prove to be Roger Mather- 
son’s little one. At the entrance of one of the log 
houses fronting the parade, — a rather ambitious 
building of two stories, if I remember rightly, with a 
narrow porch along its front, — an officer was stand- 
ing upon the step, talking with a sweet-faced woman 
who appeared scarce older than seventeen. 

“Lieutenant Helm,” said Ronan, politely, “this 
is Captain de Croix, of the French army.” 

He presented De Croix to Mrs. Helm, and then 
turned inquiringly toward me. 

ii6 


OLD FORT DEARBORN 


** I believe I have failed to learn your name? ” 

I am simply John Wayland/’ I answered, and, 
with a glance at my face. Lieutenant Helm cordially 
extended his hand. 

“We are greatly pleased to welcome you both,” 
he said earnestly, but with a grave side-glance at his 
young wife, “ though I fear we have little to offer you 
except privation and danger.” 

“ How many have you in the garrison? ” I ques- 
tioned, my eyes upon the moving figures about us. 
“ It looks a crowd, in that narrow space.” 

“ They are all there who are able to crawl,” he 
said, with a grave smile. “ But in this case our num- 
bers are a weakness. In the garrison proper we have 
four commissioned officers, with fifty-four non-com- 
missioned officers and privates. To these may be 
added twelve settlers acting as militiamen, making 
a total defensive force of seventy men. But .fully 
twenty-five of these are upon the sick-list, and totally 
unfit for active duty; while we are further burdened 
by having under our protection twelve women and 
twenty children. It almost crazes one to think of what 
their fate may be.” 

“Your defences look strong enough to keep off 
savages,” broke in De Croix, “and I am told there 
is a sufficiency of provisions. Saint Guise! I have 
seen places where I had rather reside in my old age; 
yet with plenty of wine, some good fellows, and as 
117 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


lovely women as have already greeted me here, ’t will 
not prove so bad for a few weeks.” 

Helm glanced at him curiously; then his gaze, 
always gravely thoughtful, wandered back to me. 

“We are to evacuate the Fort,” he said quietly. 

“Evacuate?” echoed the Frenchman, as if the 
word were displeasing. “ ’T is a strange military act, 
in my judgment, and one filled with grave peril. Does 
such decision come from a council? ” 

“ There has been no council,” broke in Ronan, 
hastily. “ The commander has not honored his officers 
by calling one. Such were the orders as published on 
parade this morning.” 

He would have added more, but Helm warned 
him by a sudden look of disapproval. 

“ I understand,” he explained quietly, “ that the 
instructions received from General Hull at Detroit 
were imperative, and that Captain Heald was left no 
discretion in the matter.” 

“ I have not yet discovered the man who has seen 
the orders,” exclaimed the Ensign hotly, “ and we all 
know it means death.” 

Helm faced him sternly. 

“ A soldier’s first duty is obedience,” he said 
shortly, “and we are soldiers. Gentlemen, will you 
not come in? ” 


ii8 


CHAPTER XII 


THE HEART OF A WOMAN 



S I sat in the officers* quar- 
ters, listening to the con- 
versation regarding existing 
conditions at the Fort and 
the unrest among the In- 
dians of the border, my 
thoughts kept veering from 
the sudden and ungracious 
disappearance of Mademoi- 
selle to the early seeking after that hapless orphan 
child for whose sake I had already travelled so far 
and entered into such danger. Evidently, if I was to 
aid her my quest must be no longer interrupted. 

With characteristic gallantry, De Croix had at once 
been attracted toward Lieutenant Helm’s young and 
pretty bride, and they two had already forgotten all 
sense of existing peril in a most animated discussion 
of the latest fashionable modes in Montreal. I was 
not a little amused by the interest manifest in her soft 
blue eyes as she spoke with all the art of a woman 
versed in such mysteries, and at the languid air of 
119 



WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


elegance with which he bore himself. Meanwhile, 
I answered as best I might the flood of questions 
addressed to me by the two officers, who, having been 
shut out from the world so long, were naturally eager 
for military news from Fort Wayne and from the seat 
of government. As these partially ceased, I asked: 

“ Has a date been set for the abandonment of the 
Fort? 

“ We march out upon the fifteenth,” was Helm’s 
reply, “the day after to-morrow, unless something 
occurs meanwhile to change Captain Heald’s plans. 
I confess I dread its coming, much as I imagine a 
condemned man might dread the date of his execu- 
tion,” and his grave eyes wandered toward his young 
wife, as if fearful his words might be overheard by 
her. “ There are other lives than mine endangered, 
and their peril makes duty doubly hard.” 

“ Lieutenant,” I said, recalled to my own mission 
by these words, “ I myself am seeking to be of service 
to one here, — the young daughter of one Roger 
Matherson, an old soldier who died at this post last 
month. He was long my father’s faithful comrade in 
arms, and with his dying breath begged our care for 
his orphan child. It has come to us as a sacred trust, 
and I was despatched upon this errand. Can you tell 
me where this girl is to be found? ” 

Before he could frame a reply, for he was some- 
what slow of speech, his wife, who had turned from 


120 


THE HEART OF A WOMAN 


De Croix, and was listening with interest to my story, 
spoke impulsively. 

“ Why, we have been wondering, Mr. Way land, 
where she could have gone. Not that we have worried, 
for she is a girl well able to care for herself, and of a 
most independent spirit. She disappeared very sud- 
denly from the Fort several days ago; we supposed 
she must have gone with my mother when Mr. Kinzie 
took his family back to their home.” 

“With Mr. Kinzie?” I questioned, for at that 
moment I could not recall hearing the name. “ May 
I ask where that home is? ” 

“ He is the very good step-father of my wife, and 
one she loves as truly as if he were her own father,” 
answered Helm, warmly ; “ a man among a thousand. 
Mr. Kinzie is an Indian trader, and has been here for 
several years, if indeed he be not the first white set- 
tler, for old Pointe Au Sable was a West Indian 
mulatto. His relations with these savages who dwell 
near the Great Lake, and especially those of the Pot- 
tawattomie and Wyandot tribes, are so friendly that 
he has felt safe to remain with his family unguarded 
in his own home. They have always called him Shaw- 
nee-aw-kee, the Silver-man, and trust him as much as 
he trusts them. He is, besides, a great friend of Sau- 
ga-nash, the half-breed Wyandot; and that friendship 
is a great protection. His house is across the river, a 
little to the east of the Fort; it can easily be seen 


121 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 

from the summit of the stockade. But we have had 
no direct communication for several days; the orders 
have been very strict since the gates were closed. It 
is not safe for our soldiers to venture outside except 
in force, and neither Kinzie nor any of his family have 
lately visited us. Doubtless they feel that to do so 
might arouse the suspicion of their Indian friends.” 

“ But are you sure they are there, and safe? And 
do you believe the one I seek will be found with 
them? ” 

“ Smoke rises from the chimney, as usual, and 
there was a light burning there last evening. We do 
not know certainly that your friend is there, but think 
such is the case, as she was extremely friendly with 
a young French girl in their employ named Josette La 
Framboise.” 

I sat in silence for some time, thinking, and neg- 
lectful of the conversation being carried on around 
me by the others, until we were called to supper by 
the soldier who officiated as steward for the officers* 
mess. I remember many details of the situation, as 
they were frankly discussed in my presence while we 
lingered at the table; yet my own reflections were 
elsewhere, as I was endeavoring to determine my duty 
regarding the safety of her whom I had come so far to 
aid. Surely, my first object now must be to ascertain 
where she was, in order to be at her service when the 
hour for departure came. Nor had I any time to spare, 


122 


THE HEART OF A WOMAN 

if we were to march out on the fifteenth. I cannot 
describe, at this late day, how strangely my allegiance 
wavered, in that hour, between the unknown, unseen 
girl, and the fair, vivacious Toinette. My heart drew 
me toward the one, my clear duty to the other ; and I 
could see no way out of the dilemma except to find 
Elsa Matherson without delay, in order that the two 
should be close together where, as need arose, I could 
stand between them and whatever of evil impended. 

I fear I was an indifferent guest, for I was never 
nimble of tongue, and that night I was more silent 
than usual. However, De Croix most effectually hid 
my retirement by his rare good-humor and the spark- 
ling badinage with which he concentrated all attention 
upon himself, and was consequently soon in the hap- 
piest of moods. I know not how the fellow succeeded 
in working the miracle, but he sat at the board, upon 
Mrs. Helm’s left hand, powdered and curled as if he 
were gracing a banquet at the Tuileries. His ruffled 
shirt, glittering buckles, and bright blue waistcoat, 
were startling amid such homely surroundings; while 
his neatly folded handkerchief of lace exhaled a deli- 
cate perfume. Deeply as I was immersed in my own 
thoughts and plans, I could not help admiring his easy 
grace, and more than once forgot myself in listening 
to his marvellous tales and witty anecdotes. 

He was detailing a recent scandal of the French 
court, passing delicately over its more objectionable 
123 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


features, when I grasped the opportunity to slip un- 
observed from the room into the open of the parade- 
ground. It proved a dark night without, but the 
numerous lights in the surrounding buildings, whose 
doors and windows were open, sufficiently illumined 
the place, so that I found my way about with little 
difficulty. A group of soldiers lounged at the open 
door of the guard-house, and I paused a moment to 
speak with one, a curly-headed lad, who sat smoking, 
his back resting easily against the logs. 

‘‘ Are the outer gates ever opened at night ? ” I 
asked. 

He glanced up at me in surprise, shading his eyes 
to be assured of my identity before speaking. 

“ Scarcely either day or night now, sir,” he replied, 
respectfully, “ but between sunset and sunrise they are 
specially barred, and a double guard is set. No one 
can pass except on the order of Captain Heald.” 

“ In which direction is the Kinzie house? ” 

He pointed toward the northeast corner of the 
stockade. 

“ It is just over there, sir, across the river. You 
might see the light from the platform; beyond the 
shed yonder is the ladder that leads up into the block- 
house.” 

Thanking him, I moved forward as directed, found 
the ladder, and pushed my way up through the narrow 
opening in the floor of the second story. The small 
124 


THE HEART OF A WOMAN 


square room, feebly lighted by a single sputtering 
candle stuck in the shank of a bayonet, contained half 
a dozen men, most of them idling, although two were 
standing where they could readily peer out through 
the narrow slits between the logs. All of them were 
heavily armed, and equipped for service. They looked 
at me curiously as I first appeared, but the one who 
asked my business wore the insignia of a corporal, 
and was evidently in command. 

“ I wish to look out over the stockade, if there is 
no objection. I came in with Captain Wells’s party 
this afternoon,” I said, not knowing what their orders 
might be, or if I would be recognized. 

“ I remember you, sir,” was the prompt response, 
and you are at liberty to go out there if you desire. 
That is the door leading to the platform.” 

“ The Indians appear to be very quiet to-night.” 

“ The more reason to believe them plotting some 
fresh deviltry,” he answered, rising to his feet, and 
facing me. “We never have much to disturb us upon 
this side, as it overhangs the river and is not easy of 
approach; but the guard on the south wall is kept 
pretty busy these last few nights, and has to patrol 
the stockade. The Indians have been holding some 
sort of a powwow out at their camp ever since dark, 
and that ’s apt to mean trouble sooner or later.” 

“ Then you keep no sentry posted on the plat- 
form? ” I asked, a thought suddenly occurring to me. 

125 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“Not regularly, sir; only when something sus- 
picious happens along the river. There ’s nobody out 
there now excepting the French girl, — she seems to 
be fond of being out there all alone.” 

The French girl? Could it be possible that he 
meant Toinette? I was conscious of a strange flut- 
tering of the heart, as I stepped forth upon the nar- 
row footway and peered along it, searching for her. 
I coidd distinguish nothing, however; and as I slowly 
felt my way forward, testing the squared log beneath 
me with careful foot and keeping hold with one hand 
upon the sharpened palisades, I began to believe the 
corporal had been mistaken. The door, closing behind, 
shut off the last gleam of light, and I was left alone in 
utter darkness and silence, save for the low rumble 
of voices within the Fort enclosure, and the soft plash- 
ing below where the river current kissed the bank at 
the foot of the stockade. 

I had gone almost the full length of that side, 
before I came where she was leaning against the logs, 
her chin resting upon one hand, her gaze turned north- 
ward. Indeed, so silent was she, so intent upon her 
own thought, I might have touched her unnoticed in 
the gloom, had not the stars broken through a rift in 
the cloud above us, and sent a sudden gleam of silver 
across her face. 

“ Mademoiselle,” I said, striving to address her 
with something of the ease I thought De Croix would 
126 


THE HEART OF A WOMAN 


exercise at such a moment, ** I meant not to intrude 
upon your privacy, yet I am most glad to meet with 
you once more.” 

She started slightly, as though aroused from 
reverie, and glanced inquiringly toward me. 

“ I supposed my visitor to be one of the guard,” 
she said pleasantly ; “ and even now I am unable to 
distinguish your face, yet the sound of the voice re- 
minds me of John Wayland.” 

“ I am proud to know that it has not already been 
forgotten. You deserted me so suddenly this after- 
noon, I almost doubted my being welcome now.” 

She laughed lightly, tapping the ends of the logs 
with her finger-tips. 

“ Have you, then, never learned that a woman is 
full of whims. Monsieur?” she questioned. “Why, 
this afternoon your eyes were so big with wonder that 
they had forgotten to look at me. Truly, I spoke to 
you twice to aid me from the saddle; but you heard 
nothing, and in my desperation I was obliged to turn 
to the courtesy of Captain de Croix. Ah, there is a 
soldier, my friend, who is never so preoccupied as to 
neglect his duty to a lady.” 

“ It was indeed most ungallant of me,” I stam- 
mered, scarce knowing whether she laughed at me or 
not. “ Yet my surroundings were all new, and I have 
not the training of De Croix in such matters.” 

“ Pah ! ’t is iust as well. I am inclined to like you 
127 


WHEN V/ILDERNESS WAS KING 


as you are, my friend, and we shall not quarrel; yet, 
with all his love for lesser things, your comrade has 
always shown himself a truly gallant gentleman.” 

I made no answer to these flattering words, for 
I felt them to be true; yet no less this open praise of 
him, falling from her lips, racked me sorely, and I 
lacked the art to make light of it. 

“ The soldiers in the block-house tell me you come 
here often,” I ventured at last, for the dead silence 
weighed upon me. ‘‘ You have never seemed to me 
like one who v/ould seek such loneliness.” 

“ I am one whom very few wholly comprehend, 
I fear, and surely not upon first acquaintance,” she 
answered thoughtfully, “ for I am full of strange 
moods, and perhaps dream more than other girls. This 
may have been born of my early convent training, and 
the mystic tales of the nuns ; nor has it been lessened 
by the loneliness of the frontier. So, if I differ from 
other young women, you may know ’t is my training, 
as well as my nature, that may account for it. I have 
led a strange life. Monsieur, and one that has known 
much of sadness. There are times when I seek my 
own thoughts, and find liking for no other company. 
Then I come here, and in some way the loneliness of 
water and plain soothe me as human speech cannot. 
I used to love to stand yonder by the eastern wall and 
gaze out over the Great Lake, watching the green 
surges chase each other until they burst in spray along 
128 


THE HEART OF A WOMAN 


the beach. But since I went adrift in the little boat, 
and felt the cruelty of the water, I have shrunk from 
looking out upon it. Monsieur, have you never 
known how restful it sometimes is to be alone?” 

“ My life has mostly been a solitary one,” I an- 
swered, responding unconsciously to her mood, and, 
in doing so, forgetting my embarrassment. “ It is the 
birthright of all children of the frontier. Indeed, I 
have seen so little of the great world and so much of 
the woods, that I scarcely realize what companionship 
means, especially that of my own age. I have made 
many a solitary ramp leagues from the nearest settle- 
ment, and have tracked the forest alone for days to- 
gether, so content with my own thought that possibly 
I understand your meaning better than if my life had 
been passed among crowds.” 

“ Ah ! but I like the crowds,” she exclaimed has- 
tily, ** and the glow and excitement of that brighter, 
fuller life, where people really live. It is so dull here, 
— the same commonplace faces, the tiresome routine 
of drill, the same blue sky, gray water, and green 
plains, to look upon day after day. Oh, but it is all 
so wearisome, and you cannot conceive how I have 
longed again for Montreal and the many little gaieties 
that brighten a woman’s world. There are those here 
who have never known these happier things; their 
whole horizon of experience has been bounded by 
garrison palisades ; but ’t is not so with me, — I tasted 

9 129 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


of the sweet wine once, when I was a girl, and the 
memory never leaves me.** 

“Yet you are often happy?** 

“ *T is my nature. Monsieur, a legacy of my 
mother’s people; but I am not always gay of heart 
when my lips smile.** 

“ And the coming of the French gallant has 
doubtless freshened your remembrance of the past? ** 
I said, a trifle bitterly. 

“ It has indeed,** was her frank admission. “ He 
represents a life we know so little about here on the 
far frontier. To you, with your code of border manli- 
ness, he may appear all affectation, mere shallow in- 
sincerity; but to me, Captain de Croix represents his 
class, stands for the refinements of social order to which 
women can never be indifferent. Those were the hap- 
piest days of my life. Monsieur; and at Montreal he 
was only one among many.** 

She was gazing out into the black void as she 
spoke, and the slowly clearing skies permitted the star- 
light to gleam in her dark eyes and reveal the soft 
contour of her cheek. 

“ You do not understand that? ** she questioned 
finally, as I failed to break the silence. 

“I have no such pleasant memory to look back 
upon,** I answered; “yet I can feel, though possibly 
in a different way, your longing after better things.** 
“You realize this sense of loneliness? — this ab- 

130 


THE HEART OF A WOMAN 


sence of all that makes life beautiful and worth the 
living? ” 

“ Perhaps not that, — for life, even here, is well 
worth living, and to my eyes the great sea yonder, and 
the dark forests, are of more interest than city streets. 
But in one sense I may enter into your meaning; my 
thought also is away from here, — it is with a home, 
scarcely less humble than are our present surround- 
ings, yet it contains the one blessing worth striving 
after — love.” 

“ Love ! ” she echoed the unexpected word almost 
scornfully. “ *T is a phrase so lightly spoken that I 
scarce know what it may signify to you. You love 
some one then. Monsieur? ” and she looked up at me 
curiously. 

“ My mother. Mademoiselle.” 

I saw the expression upon her face change in- 
stantly. “Your pardon,” she exclaimed, hastily. 
“ 'T was not the meaning I had thought. I know 
something of such love as that, and honor you for thus 
expressing it.” 

“ I have often wondered, since first we met, at 
your being here, seemingly alone, at this outermost 
post of the frontier. It seems a strange home for one 
of yout refinement and evident delight in social life.” 

“ ’T is not from choice. Monsieur. My mother 
died when I was but a child, as I have already told 
you. I scarce have memory of her, yet I bear her 

131 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


name, and, I am told, inherit many of her peculiarities. 
She was the daughter of a great merchant at Mon- 
treal, and the blood of a noble family of France flowed 
in her veins. She gave up all else to become my 
father’s wife; nor did she ever live to regret it.” 

Her voice was so low and plaintive that I hesi- 
tated to speak; yet finally, as she ceased, and silence 
fell between us, I asked another question: 

“ And ’t was then you voyaged into this wilder- 
ness with your father? ” 

‘‘ I have never since left him while he lived,” she 
answered softly, her head resting upon her hand. 
“ But he also has gone now, and I merely wait oppor- 
tunity to journey eastward.” 

“ He was a trader, you told me once? ” 

“ A soldier first. Monsieur ; a true and gallant 
soldier, but later he traded with the Indians for furs.” 

I felt that she was weeping softly, although I 
could see but little, and I leaned in silence against the 
rough logs, gazing out into the black night, hesitating 
to break in upon her grief. Then a voice spoke rapidly 
at the farther end of the stockade, and a sudden glow 
of light shot like an arrow along the platform. I 
turned quickly, and there in the open doorway, clearly 
outlined against the candle flame, stood De Croix. 


132 


CHAPTER XIII 


A WAGER OF FOOLS 

T looks a narrow walk, my 
,** he said rather doubt- 
fully, peering forward with 
shaded eyes, “ and *t is dark 
as Erebus; yet gladly will 
I make the venture for hope 
f the reward.” 

The door closed behind 
im, shutting off the last 
vestige of light; and we, with our eyes accustomed 
to the gloom, could mark his dim outline as he ad- 
vanced toward us. His actions belied his words, for 
he moved with all his accustomed jauntiness along the 
uncertain foot-way, barely touching the top of the 
palisades with one hand to guide his progress. He 
was almost upon the girl before he perceived either of 
us; and then his earliest words surprised me into 
silence. 

‘‘ Ah, Toinette ! ” he cried eagerly, “ I fear I must 
have kept you waiting overlong ; yet I was with Mrs. 

133 




WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


Helm, — a most fair and charming bride, — and scarce 
noted the rapid passage of time.” 

“ I naturally supposed it was a woman,” she 
answered, with what I interpreted as a strained as- 
sumption of indifference, ‘‘ as that has ever been your 
sufficient reason for breaking faith with me.” 

“ Do not interpret it so, I beg,” he hastened to 
implore. “ Surely, my being a few moments in arrears 
is not a matter sufficiently serious to be called a break- 
age of faith. I do assure you, Toinette, you were never 
once absent from my thought.” 

“ Indeed? ” she exclaimed incredulously, and with 
an echo of suppressed laughter in her voice. “ Then 
truly you are far more to be commiserated on this 
occasion than I, for in truth. Monsieur de Croix, I 
have not missed you over-much. I have enjoyed most 
excellent company.” 

“ The mysterious spirits of the starry night? ” he 
questioned, looking out into the darkness, “ or the dim 
figures of your own imagination? ” 

“ Very far from either,” she retorted, with a 
laugh ; ‘‘ a most substantial reality, as you are bound 
to confess. Master Way land, is it not time for you 
fitly to greet Captain de Croix? He may deem you 
lax in cordiality.” 

I can perceive now how dearly the laughing witch 
loved to play us one against the other, hiding whatever 
depth of feeling she may have had beneath the surface 

134 


A WAGER OF FOOLS 


of careless innocence, and keeping us both in an un- 
certainty as aggravating as it was sweet. I could not 
read the expression upon De Croix’s face in the gloom, 
yet I saw him start visibly at her almost mocking 
words, and there was a trace of ill-suppressed irrita- 
tion in his voice. 

‘‘ Saint Guise ! ’T was for that, then, he left us 
so mysteriously,” he exclaimed, unconsciously uttering 
his first thought aloud. “ But how knew he you were 
to be here? ” 

Before she could answer, I spoke, anxious to re- 
lieve her of embarrassment ; for ’t was ever my nature 
to yield much without complaint. 

“ As it chances. Captain de Croix, she did not 
know,” I said, standing back from the palisades where 
he could see me more clearly. “ I left the table below 
with no thought of meeting Mademoiselle, and came 
out on this platform for a different purpose. As you 
know, I am visiting Dearborn upon a special mission.” 

“Ah, true,” and I could feel the trace of relief 
in his voice as he instantly recalled my story. “ Y ou 
also sought a girl in this wilderness, — may I ask, have 
you yet found trace of her? ” 

I heard Mademoiselle move quickly. 

“A girl?” she asked in surprise. “Here, at 
Dearborn? ” 

“ She was at Dearborn until very lately, but they 
tell me now I must seek for her at the Kinzie house. 

135 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


It was for the purpose of marking its position from the 
Fort that I came up here.” 

For a moment no one of our voices broke the 
strained silence. I was troubled by this knowledge 
of a pre-arranged meeting between these two, yet felt 
it was nothing with which I had a right to interfere. 
This careless French girl, whom I had known for 
scarcely two days, was not one to be easily guided, 
even had I either reason or excuse for attempting it. 

‘‘ ’T is strange,” she said, musingly, ‘‘ that she has 
never so much as spoken to me about it; yet she was 
always shy of speech in such matters.” 

“ Of whom do you speak, Toinette? ” questioned 
De Croix. 

“ Of Master Wayland’s young friend with the 
Kinzies,” she answered, the old sprightliness again 
in her voice. “ I know her very well. Monsieur, — a 
dear, sweet girl, — and shall be only too glad to speed 
you on to her. Yet ’t is not so easy of accomplishment, 
hemmed in as we are here now. Yonder is the light. 
Master Way land; but much of peril may lurk be- 
tween. ’T is not far, were the way clear ; indeed, in 
the old days of peace a rope ferry connected Fort and 
house, but now to reach there safely will require a 
wide detour and no little woodcraft. There were 
patrols of savages along the river bank at dusk, and it 
is doubtful if all have been withdrawn.” 

I looked as she pointed, and easily distinguished 

136 


A WAGER OF FOOLS 

the one glittering spark that pierced the darkness to 
the north and east. I wondered at her earlier words; 
yet they might all be true enough, for I knew nothing 
of this Elsa Matherson. Before I could question fur- 
ther, De Croix had interfered, — eager, no doubt, to 
be rid of me. 

‘‘Upon my soul!” he exclaimed recklessly, “if 
I could voyage here from Montreal to win but a smile, 
it should prove a small venture for our backwoods 
friend to cover yonder small distance. Sacrel I 
would do the deed myself for one kiss from rosy lips.” 

I have wondered since what there was about those 
words to anger me. It must have been their boastful 
tone, the sarcasm that underlay the velvet utterance, 
which stung like salt in a fresh wound. I felt that 
from the summit of his own success he durst laugh 
at me; and my blood boiled instantly. 

“ You are wondrous bold. Monsieur,” I retorted, 
“ when the matter is wholly one of words. I regret I 
cannot pledge you such reward, so that I might learn 
how you would bear yourself in the attempt.” 

He stared at me haughtily across the shoulder of 
the girl, as if doubting he heard aright. 

“You question my courage to venture it?” 

“It has been my experience that the cock that 
crows the loudest fights the least.” 

“ Oh, hush. Messieurs I ” broke in Mademoiselle, 
her voice showing suppressed amusement. “This 

137 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


platform is far too narrow to quarrel upon; and, be- 
sides, the condition of the wager is most easily met, — 
that is, if my lips be deemed of sufficiently rosy hue.” 

I know I stood with opened mouth, so astounded 
by these mocking words as to be stricken dumb; but 
not so De Croix. The audacity of his nature made 
eager response to the bold challenge. 

“ Do you mean what you say, Toinette? ” he 
asked, striving to gain a view of her face in the 
darkness. 

“Do I? And pray, why not?” she questioned 
lightly. “ One kiss is not so very much to give, and 
I shall never miss it. ’T is duller here than at Mon- 
treal, and no doubt ’twill greatly interest me to wit- 
ness the race. Surely it will prove a better way to end 
your foolish quarrel than to shoot each other. But 
come. Messieurs, why do you hesitate so long? is not 
the prize enough?” 

He bowed gallantly, and took her hand. 

“ ’T would be the ransom of a king,” he answered ; 
“ though first I wish to know the terms of this contest 
more clearly.” 

She looked out into that silent and lonely night, 
her eyes upon the distant gleam, and instinctively our 
glances followed hers. It was a dull desolation, with 
no sound, no movement, in all the black void. The 
stars gleamed dull on the water of the river beneath 
us, and we could dimly see the denser shadow of the 

138 


A WAGER OF FOOLS 


opposite shore; beyond this, nothing was apparent 
save that distant candle flame. What lay between, — 
what strange obstruction of land, what ambushed foes, 

— neither of us had means of knowing. We could 
simply plunge into the mystery of it blindfolded by 
the fates. Yet to draw back now would brand either 
of us forever with the contempt of her who had chal- 
lenged us so lightly. 

“ ’T is all simple enough,’’ she said at last, her 
eyes glowing with quick excitement. “ The goal is 
yonder where that light glows so clearly, though I 
warn you the longest way round may prove the surest 
in the end. To the one of you who reaches there first 
and returns here, I am to give one kiss as a measure 
of reward. I care not how it may be accomplished, 

— such minor matters rest with your own wits.” 

But the young girl we seek,” he insisted ; ‘‘ must 
she also be brought here upon the return? ” 

“ Pish ! what care I what may be done with the 
girl? Besides, she is far safer from the savages there 
than she would be here.” 

I saw De Croix lean far out over the sharpened 
palisades and peer downward. The movement gave 
me instantly a thought of his purpose, and, unnoticed, 
I loosened the pistol-belt about my waist and silently 
dropped it upon the platform. Whatever desperate 
chance he might choose to take, I was determined now 
to equal. 


139 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


‘‘ Doth the water of the river come to the very foot 
of these logs? he asked, unable to determine in the 
darkness. 

“ No, Monsieur, the earth slopes downward for 
some feet, yet the current is at this bank, and gives 
much depth of water at the shore.” 

“ But of what width is the strip of earth 
between? ” 

“ Perhaps the length of a tall man.” 

“ Saint Guise ! ’t is well I thought to ask ! ” he 
explained jauntily. “ And now. Mademoiselle, if you 
will but kindly hold this coat and sword, I shall strive 
to show you how highly I value the prize offered, and 
what a French gentleman can do for love.” 

I fully grasped his purpose now, and even as he 
turned toward her, holding out the valuables he hesi- 
tated to lose, I scaled the low barrier in my front, 
planted my feet firmly between the pointed stakes, and 
sprang boldly into the darkness. 


140 


CHAPTER XIV 


DARKNESS AND SURPRISE 

T was a greater distance to 
the water than I had sup- 
posed, but I struck at last 
fairly enough, and went 
down until I thought I 
should never come up again. 
As I rose to the surface and 
shook the moisture from my 
face and ears, a light laugh 
rang out high above me, and Mademoiselle’s clear 
voice cried mockingly: 

‘‘ The backwoodsman has taken the first trick. 
Monsieur.” 

I saw De Croix’s body dart, like a black arrow, 
far out into the air, and come sweeping down. He 
struck to my left, and a trifle behind me ; but I waited 
not to learn just how. With lusty strokes I struck 
out for the north shore. It was a hard swim, for my 
deerskins held the water like so many bags, and the 
current, though not rapid, was sufficiently strong to 
141 



WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


make me fight valiantly for every foot of way. I came 
out, panting heavily, upon a low bank of soft mud, 
and crept cautiously up under the black shadow of 
some low bushes growing there. I took time, as I 
rested, to glance back, hoping thus to learn more of the 
direction I should follow ; for the Kinzie light was no 
longer visible, and my struggle with the current had 
somewhat bev/ildered me. I neither saw nor heard 
anything of De Croix; but the flame of the candle 
gleaming through the narrow slits of the block-house 
told me clearly where it stood, while a wild yelling 
farther to the southward convinced me that our Indian 
besiegers were yet astir and concocting some fresh 
deviltry at their camp. With a half-uttered prayer 
that they might all be there, I hastily pressed the 
water from my soggy clothes and plunged forward 
into the unknown darkness. A big cottonwood, as 
from its shape I judged it to be, rose against the stars 
in my front, — a dim outline swaying slightly in the 
westerly wind, and I took it as my first guide-mark, 
moving over the rough unknown ground as rapidly 
and silently as possible. 

The soft moccasins I wore aided me greatly, nor 
were there many trees along the way to drop twigs 
in the path to crackle under foot; yet I found the 
ground uneven and deceptive, rifted with small gullies, 
and more or less bestrewn with stones, against which 
I stumbled in the darkness. I was too thoroughly 
142 


DARKNESS AND SURPRISE 

trained in the stern and careful school of the frontier 
not to be cautious at such a time, for I knew that si- 
lence and seeming desolation were no proof of savage 
desertion ; nor did I believe that Indian strategy would 
leave the north of the Fort wholly unguarded. Any 
rock, any black ravine, any clump of trees or bushes, 
might well be the lurking-place of hostiles, who would 
only too gladly wreak their vengeance upon any hap- 
less straggler falling into their hands. I was unarmed, 
save for the long hunting-knife I carried in the bosom 
of my shirt; but my thought was not of fighting, — 
it was to get through without discovery. 

To De Croix I gave small consideration, save that 
the memory of the wager was a spur to urge me 
forward at greater speed. The place was strangely, 
painfully still; even the savage yelling of the distant 
Indians seemed to die away as I advanced, and nothing 
broke the oppressive silence but an occasional flutter 
of leaves, or my own deep breathing. I had gone, I 
take it, half or three-quarters of a mile, not directly 
north, but circling ever to the eastward, seeking thus 
to reach the house from the rear, when I came to a 
sharp break in the surface of the land, somewhat 
deeper and more abrupt than those before encountered. 
It seemed like a cut or ravine made by some rush of 
water lakeward; and, as I hesitated upon the edge of 
it, peering across and wondering if I had better risk 
the plunge, my eyes caught the blaze of the Kinzie 

143 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


light scarce a hundred yards from the opposite bank 
of the ravine. 

Assured that I was headed right, I stepped off 
with a new confidence that, for the moment, conquered 
my usual prudence, — for the steep bank gave way 
instantly beneath my weight. I grasped vainly at the 
edge, fell heavily sidewise, and rolled like a great log, 
bruised and half-stunned, into the black gorge below. 
I remember gripping at a slender bush that yielded to 
my touch ; but all the rest was no more than a breath- 
less tumble, until I struck something soft at the bot- 
tom, — something that squirmed and gripped my long 
hair savagely, and pushed my head back with a grasp 
on the throat that nearly throttled me. 

It was all so sudden, so unexpected, that for the 
moment I was helpless as a child, struggling merely 
from the natural instinct of preservation to break free. 
I could perceive nothing, the darkness was so intense ; 
yet as I gradually succeeded in getting my hands loose, 
I wound them in long coarse hair, pressed them against 
bare flesh, heard deep labored breathing close to my 
face, and believed I was struggling v/ith a savage. 

It was a question of mere brute strength, and 
neither of us had had the advantage of surprise. I 
could feel the sharp prick of my own knife as he 
hugged me to him, but I dare not reach for it, and I 
held his arms so tightly that he lay panting and strug- 
gling as if in a vise. It was an odd fight, as we turned 
144 


DARKNESS AND SURPRISE 


and tossed, writhed and twisted among those sharp 
pointed rocks like two infuriated wild-cats in the dark, 
neither venturing to break hold for a blow, nor having 
breath enough in our bodies for so much as a curse. 
My adversary struck me once with his head under the 
chin, so hard a blow that everything turned red before 
me; and then I got my knee up into the pit of his 
stomach and caused him to quiver from the agony of 
it; yet the fellow clung to me like a bull-terrier, and 
never so much as whined. 

It was never my nature to yield easily, and I felt 
now this struggle was to cost his life or mine; so I 
clinched my teeth, and sought my best to push back 
the other’s head until the neck should crack. But if 
I was a powerful man, this other was no less so, and he 
fought with a fierce and silent desperation that foiled 
me. We dug and tore, gouged and struck, digging our 
heels into the soft earth in a vain endeavor to gain 
some advantage of position. My cheek, I knew, was 
bleeding from contact with a jagged stone, and I was 
fast growing faint from the awful tension, when I felt 
his arms slip. 

“ My God ! ” he panted. “ The devil has me ! ” 

So startled was I by these English words, that 
I loosed my grip, staring breathlessly through the 
darkness. 

“ Are you white? ” I gasped, so weakened I could 
scarce articulate. 


10 


145 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


For a moment he did not answer, but I could hear 
his breath coming in gasps and sobs. Then he spoke 
slowly, his voice hoarse from exertion. 

By the memory of Moses ! I was once, — but 
that squeeze must have turned me black, I ’m thinkin*. 
An’ ye ’re no Injun? ” 

“ Not so much as a feather of one,” I retorted. 
“ But that is what I took you to be.” 

We were both sitting up by this time, he with his 
back against the bank, both of us panting as if we 
could never regain our breath, and eagerly seeking to 
see each other’s features in the gloom. Any attempt 
at conversation was painful, but I managed at last 
to stammer: 

You must be a whalebone man, or I ’d have 
broken every rib in your body.” 

‘‘ An’ I ’m not a bit sure ye did n’t,” was the 
response, uttered between puffs. “ ’T was the worst 
grip ever Ol’ Tom Bums had squeeze him, — an’ I ’ve 
felt o’ bars mor’ nor oncet. Who may ye be, anyhow, 
stranger? an’ for what cause did ye jump down yere 
on me? ” 

There was a trace of growing anger in his tone, 
as remembrance of the outrage returned to his mind, 
which caused me to smile, now that I could breathe 
less painfully. It seemed such a ludicrous affair, — 
that dark struggle, each mistaking the purpose and 
color of the other. 


146 


DARKNESS AND SURPRISE 


“ My name is Wayland,” I made haste to explain, 
‘‘and I left the Fort but now, hoping by this round- 
about route to reach the Kinzie place and return under 
cover of darkness. I slipped on the edge of the bank 
up yonder, and the next thing I knew we were 
at it. I can assure you, friend, I supposed myself 
in the arms of a savage. You say your name is 
Burns?'’ 

“ or Tom Burns.” 

“What? It is not possible you are the same 
who brought a message to Major Wayland on the 
Maumee? ” 

“ I reckon I am,” he said, deliberately. “An* be 
you the boy I met? ” 

“ Yes,” I said, still doubtful. “ But how came you 
here?” 

“ Wal, here ’s whar I belong. I *ve bin a sorter 
huntin' an' trappin’ yer'bouts fer goin' on nine year 
or so, an’ I built a shanty to live in up yonder by the 
forks. I hed n't much more nor got home frum down 
east, when the Injuns burnt thet down ; an' sence then 
I ain’t bin much o' nowhar, but I reckon'd I 'd go inter 
ther Fort to-morrow and git some grub.” 

He spoke with a slow, deliberate drawl, as if not 
much accustomed to converse; and I pictured him to 
myself as one of those silent plainsmen, so habituated 
to solitude as almost to shun companionship, though 
he had already let drop a word or two that made me 

' 147 


WHEN WILDERNESS V/AS KING 


deem him one not devoid of humor. Suddenly I 
thought of De Croix. 

“ Has any one passed here lately? ’’ I asked, rising 
to my feet, the old emulation throbbing in my veins. 
‘‘ A white man, I mean, going north.” 

“ Wal,” he answered slowly, and as he also stood 
up I could make out, what I had not noted in our 
previous meeting, that he was as tall as I, but spare of 
build ; ‘‘ I ain’t seen nuthin’, but some sort o’ critter 
went ploughin’ down inter the gulch up yonder, 
maybe ten minutes ’fore ye lit down yere on me. Bern 
if I know whether it were a human er a bar ! ” 

“Will you show me the nearest way to the Kinzie 
house? ” 

“ I reckon I ’ll show ye all right, but ye bet ye 
don’t git me nigher ner a hundred foot o’ the door,” 
he returned seriously. “ John Kinzie ’s a mighty good 
man, stranger, but he an’ Ol’ Tom Burns ain’t never 
hitched worth a cent.” 

We climbed silently, and came out together upon 
the top. A slight beam of light crept along through 
the open door of the log house just in front of us, and 
for the first time I caught a fair view of my companion. 
He was a tall, gaunt, wiry fellow, typical in dress and 
manner of his class, — the backwoodsmen of the South- 
west, — but with a peculiarly solenm face, seamed with 
wrinkles, and much of it concealed beneath a bushy, 
iron-gray beard. We eyed each other curiously. 

148 


DARKNESS AND SURPRISE 


“ Dern if ever I expected ter meet up with ye 
agin in no sich way as this,” he said shortly. “ But 
thet ’s the house. Be ye goin’ ter stay thar long? ” 

“ No,” I answered, feeling anxious to have his 
guidance back to the Fort, “ not over five minutes. 
Will you wait? ” 

“ Reckon I may as well,” and he seated himself 
on a stump. 

No one greeted me at the house, not even a dog; 
though I could see figures moving within. Either the 
occupants felt that an assumption of confidence was 
their best security, or experienced no fear of Indian 
treachery, for I rapped twice before there was any 
response. A young girl, with a face of rare beauty 
and a pair of roguish black eyes, peered out curiously. 
At sight of a stranger she drew back slightly, yet 
paused to ask: 

“ Did you wish to see some one here? ” 

I am seeking for a young girl,” I answered, won- 
dering if this could possibly be she, “ and they told 
me at the Fort I should probably find her here. May 
I ask if you are Elsa Matherson? ” 

For a moment she looked out at me, as if I might 
be an escaped lunatic. Then she turned her face over 
her shoulder toward those within. 

“Mr. Kinzie,” said she, “here’s another man 
looking for Elsa Matherson.” 


149 


CHAPTER XV 


AN ADVENTURE UNDERGROUND 



HEAVILY-BUILT man in 
shirt-sleeves, with a strong, 
good-humored face, and a 
shock of gray hair, ap- 
peared beside the girl in the 
doorway. 

‘‘ ’T is not the same scamp 
that kissed you, Josette,” he 
'exclaimed, after examining 
me intently in the dim light, ‘‘ but I doubt not he may 
prove of similar breed, and it behooves you to be care- 
ful where you stand.” 

‘‘ Has De Croix been here? ” I questioned, scarcely 
deeming it possible he could have outstripped me in 
our race through the night. 

“ I know not the rascal’s name,” was the reply, in 
the man’s deep voice, “ but certain I am there was one 
here scarce ten minutes agone asking after this same 
Matherson girl. Saint James ! but she must have made 
some sweet acquaintances, judging from the looks of 

150. 


AN ADVENTURE UNDERGROUND 

her callers ! Josette has been rubbing the fellow’s kiss 
off her lips ever since he caught her unawares.” 

“He was a dandified young fellow? ” I urged, im- 
patient to be off, yet eager to be sure. 

The girl laughed lightly, her roguish eyes ablaze 
with merriment. 

“He might be sometime. Monsieur,” she cried, 
evidently glad to talk, “ but to-night he reminded me 
of those scare-crows the farmers near Quebec keep in 
their fields; a little chap, with a bit of turned-up 
mustache, and a bright eye, but rags, — gracious, 
such rags as he wore ! ” 

’T was De' Croix, there could be no doubt of it, 
— De Croix, torn and dishevelled by his mad rush 
through the darkness, but with no shred of his reckless 
audacity gone. There was naught left me now but 
to race back upon his trail, hopeful for some chance 
that might yet allow me to come in first on the return 
journey. In my throat I swore one thing, — the grace- 
less villain should never collect his reward at both 
ends of his journey. He had already stolen the sweets 
from Josette’s red lips, but he should never claim those 
of Mademoiselle. I lingered for but a single question 
more. 

“ But this Elsa Matherson, — she is not here, 
then? ” 

“ No,” returned Mr. Kinzie, somewhat gruffly, 
“ and has not been since the closing of the gates of the 

151 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


Fort. I think you are a parcel of mad fools, to be 
chasing around on such an errand ; yet humanity leads, 
me to bid you come in. There is not a safe foot of 
ground to-night for any strange white man within 
three hundred miles of Dearborn.” 

I glanced about me into the black shadows, 
startled at his solemn words of warning. Away to 
the southward a faint glimmer told of the location of 
the Fort; farther to the west, a sudden blaze swept 
up into the sky, reflected in ruddy radiance on the 
clouds, and the thought came to me that the savages 
had put torch to the deserted cabin on the south branch 
of the river. 

No doubt ’tis true,” I answered hastily; “yet, 
whatever the danger may be, I must regain the stock- 
ade before dawn.” 

I saw him step forward, as if he would halt me in 
my purpose; but, wishing to be detained no longer, 
my thoughts being all with De Croix and Mademoi- 
selle, I turned away quickly and plunged back into 
the darkness. 

“You young fool!” he called after me, “come 
back, or your life will be the forfeit ! ” 

Without so much as answering,! ran silently in my 
moccasins to the spot where I had left OF Tom Burns. 
He sat upon his stump, motionless, apparently without 
the slightest interest in anything going on about him. 

“ or Kinzie vras gol-dern polite ter ye, sonny,” he 

152 


AN ADVENTURE UNDERGROUND 


commented. “ Reckon i£ an Injun was a scalpin’ me 
right on his front doorstep he ’d never hev asked me 
ter walk inside like that! He an’ me sorter drew on 
each other ’bout a year ago, down at Lee’s shebang; 
an’ he don’t ’pear ter fergit ’bout it.” 

“ Show me the nearest safe passage to the Fort,” 
I said, interrupting him, almost rudely. 

He got up slowly, and cast his eyes with delib- 
eration southward. 

“ Oh, thar ain’t no sich special hurry, I reckon,” 
he answered with an exasperating drawl. ‘‘We ’ll be 
thar long afore daylight, — perviding allers we don’t 
hit no Injuns meantime, — an’ the slower we travel 
the less chance thar is o’ thet.” 

“ But, friend Burns,” I urged, “ it is a racing 
matter. I must reach there in advance of another man, 
who has already been here ahead of me.” 

“ So I sorter reckoned from what I heerd ; but ye 
need n’t rip the shirt off ye on thet account. The feller 
can’t git in thar till after daylight, nohow. Them 
sojers is too blame skeered ter open the gates in the 
dark, an’ all the critter ’ll git if he tries it will be a 
volley o’ lead; so ye might just as well take it 
easylike.” 

The old man’s philosophy seemed sound. De 
Croix would certainly not gain admittance until he 
could make himself known to the guard, and, carefully 
as the stockade was now patrolled, it was hardly prob- 

153 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


able he would be permitted to approach close enough 
for identification during the night. De Croix was no 
frontiersman, and was reckless to a degree; yet his 
long training as a soldier would certainly teach him 
a measure of caution in approaching a guarded fort at 
such a time. , 

“’Tis doubtless true,” I admitted, ‘‘yet I shall 
feel safer if we push on at once.” 

“Ye called the feller De Croix, didn’t ye?” 
he asked. “ Is it the French dandy as was at 
Hawkins’s? ” 

“Yes,” I answered, “and I guess you don’t care 
much to help him** 

Burns wasted no breath in reply, but moved for- 
ward with noiseless step. Glancing back, I could 
clearly perceive Kinzie framed in the light of his open 
door. The vivacious French lass stood beside him, 
peering curiously out across his broad shoulders. 
Then we sank into the blackness of the ravine, and 
everything was blotted from our sight. 

Bums evidently knew the intricacies of the path 
leading to the Fort gate, for I soon felt my feet upon 
a beaten track, and stumbled no more over the various 
obstacles that rendered my former progress so uncer- 
tain. My guide moved with excessive caution, as it 
seemed to me, frequently pausing to peer forward into 
the almost impenetrable darkness, and sniffing the 
night air suspiciously as if hoping thus to locate any 

154 


AN ADVENTURE UNDERGROUND 

lurking foes when his keen eyes failed in the attempt. 
So dark was it that I had almost to tread upon his 
heels in order to follow him, as not the slightest sound 
came from his stealthy advance. As he surmounted 
the steeper inclines of land, I was able to perceive him 
dimly, usually leaning well forv/ard and moving with 
the utmost caution, his long rifle held ready for instant 
use. As we drew nearer the river, — or where I sup- 
posed the river must be, for I could distinguish but 
little of our position, — he swerved from the footpath 
we were following, and the way instantly grew rougher 
to our feet. 

“ Reckon we ’d better hit the crick a bit below the 
Fort,” he muttered, over his shoulder; ‘‘less likely 
ter find Injuns waitin’ fer us than” 

“You think there are savages on this shore?” 

He turned partially, and peered at me through the 
darkness. 

“ I never heerd tell as Injuns was fools,” he an- 
swered briefly. “ In course thar ’s some yere, an’ 
we ’re almighty likely ter find ’em.” 

On the bank of the river, which I could see dimly 
by the faint light of a star or two that had broken 
through the cloud-rifts, he paused suddenly, sniffing 
the air like a pointer dog. 

“ The gol-dern fools ! ” he muttered, striking his 
rifle-butt on the ground with an expression of disgust. 
“ They ’ve gone and done it now ! ” 

155 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“ Done what?’* I questioned, almost guessing his 
meaning as a pungent odor assailed my nostrils. 
“That smells like rum!” 

“ ’T is rum. Dern if ever I see whar the A’mighty 
finds so many blame idjits ter make sojers of! Them 
ar’ fellers in the Fort wern’t in tight ’nough pickle, 
with a thousand savages howlin’ ’bout ’em, so they ’ve 
went an’ poured all their liquor inter the river! If 
I know Injun nature, it jist means the craziest lot o’ 
redskins, whin they find it out, ever was on these yere 
plains. I bet they make thet fool garrison pay mighty 
big fer this job ! ” 

“ Y ou mean the destruction of the liquor will 
anger them? ” 

“Anger? It’ll drive ’em plum crazy, — they’ll 
be ravin’ maniacs ! It ’s the hope o’ spoils thet ’s held 
’em back so long. They ’ve wanted the Fort to be 
’vacuated, so as they could plunder it, — thet ’s been 
the song o’ the chiefs to hold their young men from 
raisin’ ha’r. But come, sonny, thar’s nothin’ gained 
a-stayin’ here, an’ dern me if I want ter meet any 
Injun with thet thar smell in the air. I don’t swim 
no river smellin’ like thet one does. We ’ll hev ter 
go further up, I reckon, an’ cross over by the ol’ 
agency buildin’.” 

We crept up the edge of the stream, keeping well 
in under the north bank, and moving with the utmost 
caution, for the chances were strong that this portion 


AN ADVENTURE UNDERGROUND 


of the river would be closely watched by the redskins. 
We met with no obstacle, however, nor were we ap- 
parently even observed from the stockade, as we 
slowly passed its overhanging shadow. I could dis- 
tinguish clearly its dark outlines, even making out a 
head or two moving above the palisades; but no hail 
of any kind rang out across the intervening water, and 
we were soon beyond the upper block-house, where 
a faint light yet shone. We could see the dim shape 
of the two-story factory building, looking gloomy and 
deserted on the south shore. Burns lay flat at the 
water’s edge, studying the building intently; and his 
extreme caution made me a bit nervous, although I 
could scarcely determine why, for I had thus far 
marked not the slightest sign of danger. 

“ I reckon we ’ll hev ter risk it,” he said at length, 
as he bound his powder-horn upon his head with a 
dark cloth. “ Come right ’long arter me, and don’t 
make no splashin’.” 

He slipped off so silently that I scarcely knew he 
was gone, until I missed the dark outline of his figure 
at my side. With all possible caution, I followed him. 
The current was not strong, but I partially faced it, 
and struck out with a long, steady stroke, so that my 
progress, as nearly as I could judge, was almost di- 
rectly across the stream. Burns had been completely 
lost to my sight, although as I looked along the 
slightly glistening water I could see for some distance 

157 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


ahead. I remember a black log bearing silently down 
upon me, and how I shrank from contact with it, 
fearful lest it might conceal some human thing. Soon 
after it had swirled by, my feet touched the shelving 
bank, and I crept cautiously up into the overhanging 
shadow. Burns was there, and had already recon- 
noitred our position; for my first knowledge of his 
presence came when he slowly lowered himself down 
the bank until he lay close beside me. 

‘‘ They 're thar,” he said, soberly. “ Thought 
most likely they wud be.” 

Indians?” I asked, doubtfully, — for I had an 
impression the factory might be garrisoned by some 
of our own people. 

“ Sure ; I heerd as how the sojers hed been drawed 
in, an' naturally reckoned the Injuns would n't be 
over-long findin' it out. 'Nother fool thing fer the 
sojers ter dew.” 

He paused, listening intently. In the silence, 
above the slight sound of the running water, I felt sure 
I could distinguish voices speaking not far distant. 

“ It 's no place yere ter stay,” he whispered, his 
lips close at my ear. ** Reckon best thing we kin dew 
now is to find one o' the sojers' root-caves somewhar 
along the bank, an* crawl in thar till daylight. The 
Injuns ain't so likely to bother us when the guards kin 
see 'em from the Fort. They don't want no out-'n'-out 
fuss, to my notion, till they kin git inter the stockade 

158 


AN ADVENTURE UNDERGROUND 


for good. Creep ’long yere with me, sonny, an’ 
’t won’t be far till I find a hole somewhar thet ’ll hide 
us fer awhile anyhow.” 

We crawled slowly along, snake-fashion, at the 
edge of the river, for perhaps thirty feet, our move- 
ments hidden by the high and slightly overhanging 
bank at our left. The night was so dark that Bums 
relied more upon feeling than sight to guide him. 
At last he stopped suddenly. 

“ Here ’s one o’ ’em,” he said. Crawl along in, 
sonny ; thar ’s lots o’ room after ye go a foot er two.” 

It was the merest hole dug into the bank, roughly 
lined with irregular bits of rock, which opened out 
into quite a cellar about a yard from the surface. The 
air within felt somewhat chill and damp, as I put my 
head cautiously down the narrow opening; but there 
seemed no cause for fear, and I crept nimbly forward, 
feeling my way as I advanced along the rude mud 
walls. I could hear Burns behind me on his hands 
and knees, puffing slightly as he squeezed through the 
small aperture that led into the larger chamber. 

I had advanced perhaps two yards without reach- 
ing the end of this odd underground apartment, when 
suddenly, and directly in my front, there sounded a 
deep, hollow, unearthly groan. The sound was so 
terrifying that I stopped with chilled blood and beat- 
ing heart, gripping my knife-hilt and peering forward 
into the dark as frightened as ever I was in my life. 

159 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


I heard Bums gasp and half turn ; then, before I could 
move, even had I dared venture such a thing, an in- 
stantaneous flash lit up the black interior. I caught 
one confused glimpse of a huge object, topped with a 
head of tumbled hair, of two flapping wings stretching 
out upon either side, and then the impenetrable cur- 
tain of the dark hid everything once more. Sweat 
bathed me in cold drops; nor could I have moved 
a limb to save my life. Behind me Bums was mut- 
tering what might have been a prayer; when the 
thing groaned again, a hollow, awful moan, thrilling 
with agony, that sent me grovelling upon my face as 
nearly dead as one could well be and yet breathe 
and know. 


i6o 


CHAPTER XVI 


“FRANCE WINS, MONSIEUR!” 

OR the moment, every 
muscle of my body seemed 
paralyzed. I distinctly heard 
the creature moving in my 
direction, and I backed 
away violently, actuated 
only by the thought of in- 
stant escape into the open 
air. But Burns blocked the 

solitary passage. 

“ Back out of here, for God's sake ! ” I managed 
to exclaim through parched lips. “ That devil-thing 
is coming this way ! ” 

He struggled desperately in the darkness, tugging 
madly at some obstacle, an oath smothered on his lips. 
I waited and listened, every nerve on edge. 

“ Dern it all, but I can't ! " he groaned at last. 
‘‘ My blame ol' gun hes got wedged, and won't give 
an inch." 

Then a half-smothered laugh rippled out of the 
gloom just in front of me. 

i6i 



II 



WHEN WILDERNESS V/AS KING 


“ Heaven protect me, but it Wayland ! ” came a 
voice, and the laughter broke into a roar of merriment. 

“ Mon Dieu ! Mon Dieu ! This will be the death 
of me!” 

The voice, choked and muffled as it was, sounded 
strangely hollow in that dark cave; yet it had a 
familiar tone. So surprising was the situation, that 
I could only stare into the black void, speechless. 
It was Burns who realized the need of action. 

“ Whoever the dem fool is,” he growled, his voice 
hoarse with anger, “ choke the wind out of him, or his 
blame howling will bring every Injun on the river 
yere ! ” 

“ De Croix I ” I exclaimed quickly, aroused to 
recollection by the seriousness of the situation, “ stop 
that infernal racket, or the two of us will throttle 
you!” 

He puffed and gurgled, striving his best to smother 
the sense of ludicrousness that mastered him. To me 
there was small cause for merriment; the supreme 
terror of those moments merged into hot anger at 
the deception, and I crept forward eager to plant my 
hand upon the rascal’s throat. 

“What French mockery is this?” I exclaimed, 
my hand hard upon his arm. “ Think you. Captain 
de Croix, that you can play such tricks in this wilder- 
ness, and not be made to pay for them? ” 

I felt him tremble under my fierce grasp; yet 
162 


‘‘FRANCE WINS, MONSIEUR!” 


it was not from fear, for my words only served to 
loosen his laughter once more. Burns now broke in, 
shoving the barrel of his long rifle forward over my 
shoulder till he struck the Frenchman a blow that 
effectually silenced him. 

“You chattering ape!” he said, growling like an 
angry bear, “ another yawp like that, and I ’ll blow a 
hole clean through you! Now, you French ninny, tell 
us what this means, an’ be quick about it if ye want 
ter save yer hide ! ” 

De Croix did not answer, but he ceased to laugh, 
and panted as if the breath had been knocked out of 
him. Another impatient movement by Burns led me 
to speak up hastily in his defence. 

“Wait,” I said, laying my grasp upon his gun, 
“he has no breath left with which to make reply. 
’T is the French gallant who raced with me, the same 
whom you met at Hawkins’s Ford; and no doubt he 
felt good reason to play the ghost here in this dark pit.” 

“ Ay,” panted De Croix painfully, “ I truly 
thought the savages were upon me, and sought to 
frighten them by the only means I could devise. 
Sacrel but you hit me a sore blow in the ribs! If 
I have frightened you, ’t was no worse than the terror 
that took me at your entrance here.” 

For a time none spoke, and no sound, save De 
Croix’s labored breathing, broke the silence. Burns 
had turned slightly, and I knew was listening intently 
163 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


for any sound without. Apparently satisfied that the 
noise made by us had not been overheard, he asked 
in his old deliberate drawl: 

“ How in thunder, Mister Parly-voo, did ye git 
up thet thar combination, anyhow? ” 

I heard the Frenchman chuckle, and pinched him 
as a warning to be careful. He answered, in his 
reckless, easy way: 

“ ’T was all simple enough behind the scenes. 
Messieurs. I but took some old sacking discovered 
here, and used it as a robe, standing my hair well on 
end ; and a flash of powder made the scene most real- 
istic. The thing indeed worked well. I would I had 
a picture of Master Wayland’s face to show Toinette ! ” 
This chance mention of her name recalled me 
to myself. The undecided wager was yet to be won, 
and the night was now nearly spent. There came to 
me a sudden determination to risk a rush through the 
darkness to the Fort gates, rather than chance any 
further defeat at the hands of this rash gallant. Yet 
prudence bade me question somewhat further before 
I ventured upon so mad a deed. 

“No doubt ’t was most happy from your point of 
view. Monsieur. From ours, it was less so; and 
instead of laughing, you might better be thanking 
your lucky stars that you did not pay more dearly 
for such folly. But what brought you here? Why 
have you failed to reach the stockade?” 

164 


‘‘FRANCE WINS, MONSIEUR! 


''SacreT^ he muttered carelessly, “but I had a 
fierce enough run for it as it was. Why did I not 
reach the stockade? Because, my friend, I am no real 
ghost to be invisible in the night, nor am I a bird to 
fly. ’T was in the shadow of that big building yonder 
that I ran into a nest of those copper-colored fiends, 
and ’twas nip and tuck which of us won, had I not, 
by pure good luck, chanced to stumble into this hole, 
and so escape them. Perchance they also thought 
me a ghost, who knows? But, be that as it may, 
they were beating the river bank for me in the flesh, 
when you came creeping here.” 

We lay flat on the floor, the three of us, our eyes 
fastened upon the faint light that began to stream 
in through the entrance. I could hear Burns muttering 
to himself, as is often the way with men who lead 
lives of solitude; and every now and then De Croix 
would shake silently at the recollection of what had 
just occurred. I minded neither of them, but chiefly 
planned how best I might outwit De Croix and win 
the prize offered by Mademoiselle. The promise of 
dawning day was in the outer air, too dim as yet to 
render our faces visible. Suddenly the slight draft 
of air veered, and swept a tiny breath of smoke into 
my nostrils. It came so quickly that I scarcely realized 
its significance until Burns scrambled to his knees with 
a growl. 

“ God! the devils have run us to cover! ” he cried. 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


sullenly. “They have started a fire to smoke us 
out!’’ 

It hardly needed a moment to prove this true; 
the thin smoke grew more and more dense, filling the 
narrow entrance until we lay gasping for breath. De 
Croix, ever the most impulsive, was the first to act. 

"ParBIea!^^ he gasped, pulling himself forward 
with his hands. “Better Indians than this foul air! 
If I die, it shall at least be in the open.” 

To remain longer cooped in that foul hole was 
indeed madness; and as soon as I could I followed 
him, rolling out of the entrance to the water’s edge, 
fairly sick with the pressure upon my lungs, and 
caring so little what the end might be, provided I 
might first attain one breath of pure air, that before 
I gained strength to resist I was prisoner to as ill-look- 
ing a crew of savages as ever my eyes encountered. 
The villains triced us firmly with thongs of skin, and 
sat us up against the bank like so many puppets, 
dancing about before us, snapping their dirty fingers in 
our faces, and treating us to all manner of taunts and 
insults. ’Twas done so quickly as to seem a dream, 
had I not smarted so sorely from the blows dealt me, 
and my limbs chafed where the tight cords were drawn. 

I recall glancing aside at Burns; but his seamed 
and puckered face remained emotionless, as the red 
devils rolled him over till he stared straight up at the 
sky, now gray with coming dawn. The sight of De 
i66 


‘‘FRANCE WINS, MONSIEUR!^’ 


Croix almost set me laughing, which won for me a 
kick from the brute who had me in special charge. 
The Frenchman was surely no court dandy now; his 
fancy clothing clung to him in rags, while the powder- 
flash within the cellar had blackened his face and made 
sad havoc with his gay mustache. He endeavored 
to smile at me as our eyes met, but the effort produced 
only what seemed like a demoniac grin. 

“ ’T is a hard life. Monsieur,*^ I could not forbear 
remarking, “ and will hardly remind you of Versailles.” 

His form stiffened in its bonds, as if the words 
spurred his memory of other days. 

“A French soldier smiles at fate, wherever it 
overtakes him,” he answered, a touch of pride in his 
voice. “ Besides, the game is not played out, — I may 
yet prove the first one in. But see! if I mistake not, 
here comes the chief of all these devils.” 

The new-comer strode down the high bank alone, 
and was greeted noisily by our captors. It was the 
same Indian that had halted Captain Wells the day 
previous ; and he looked us over with a contemptuous 
sneer that curled his lips and transformed the whole 
expression of his hideously painted face. I noted that 
he paid but small heed to either De Croix or myself, 
contenting his vengeance with sharp kicks at our pros- 
trate bodies; but as he came to Burns, he paused, 
bending down till he could peer into the old borderer’s 
upturned face. 


167 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“Bah! I know you,” he said, brokenly. “You 
or Burns. Stake down in village for you.” 

The old man neither moved his head nor gave the 
slightest sign that he had heard. 

“ Squaw eat heart,” went on the Indian, prodding 
him with his stick ; “ feed bones to dog. All white 
men go that way now, — OF Burns first.” 

“ Topenebe,” was the quiet reply, as the victim 
rolled over until he half-sat against the bank, “ I had 
the pleasure o’ kickin’ ye once down on the Kankakee, 
an’ should be mighty glad ter do it agin. I reckon as 
how ye don’t feel over friendly ter me, but ye ’re 
simply wastin’ yer breath tauntin’ me. Any time 
yer derned old fire is hot, I ’m ready to dance.” 

These calm words angered the warrior, and he 
spat at him; then he turned and grunted an order in 
his own language. With blows of their sticks the 
Indians got us on our feet; but when they sought to 
drive us up the steep bank to the prairie, Ol’ Burns 
balked and absolutely refused to move. 

“ Not one dern step, Topenebe,” he swore grimly, 
“ with these yere things on my legs. I ’m no pony ter 
be hobbled, an’ blame if I ’ll jump ’long fer any red- 
skin. Ye kin carry me, if ye ain’t too lazy; but, by 
thunder ! thar ’ll be no walkin’ till ye cut them bonds.” 

Blows, curses, and threats failed alike to budge 
the old man. He simply sat down and smiled grimly 
at them; and we followed his example, dimly per- 
i68 


“FRANCE WINS, MONSIEUR!^’ 


ceiving there must be a purpose in it. Sheer obstinacy 
wins many a battle, and when we went up the bank 
our lower limbs were free, although to my mind we 
were as hopelessly bound as ever. Not so with Burns. 
I chanced to press close to him, as we came out upon 
the prairie, and he muttered a quick word into my ear. 

“ See how they herd us in the shade of the Agency ! 
They are not yet ready to let the sojers know whut 
they ’re re’lly up to. Not an Injun will go beyond 
thet line long enough to be seen. Be ready to run 
fer it as soon as I say ‘ Go,’ an’ tell the Frenchman.” 

I succeeded in making De Croix understand, by 
means of the mongrel French at my command, which 
seemed not to be intelligible to the savages; and we 
moved forward at as slow a gait as our vigilant guards 
permitted, with every muscle tense for the coming 
strain. We were bunched together, with no pretence 
of order on the part of our captors; indeed, they 
seemed to be of various minds over what was to be 
done with us, though Topenebe exercised sufficient 
control over his mongrel followers to compel at least 
partial obedience to his orders. We tramped along to 
the west of the factory, the walls of which shut off 
all view of the Fort, a half-dozen of the savages about 
us, while the chief stalked on a few feet in advance. 

We had almost reached the southwestern comer 
of the big Agency building, and Topenebe had already 
taken a step to the right, carefully keeping the log 
169 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


walls as a protection between our movements and the 
eyes of the garrison, when Burns, shaking off the 
Indians nearest him, bounded suddenly forward and 
struck Topenebe with his head, hurling the fellow by 
his side over backward as he passed. 

“ Run for the gate ! ” he yelled. 

Like an arrow from the bow, I shot around the 
Agency corner, and raced for the stockade, De Croix, 
running like a deer, barely a foot behind me. I never 
dreamed, in that moment of intense action, that Burns 
was not also coming, — that he had deliberately sacri- 
ficed himself in order to hold back the savages and give 
us the better chance for life. Behind arose the sound 
of struggle, but there was no indication of pursuit, and 
as I rounded the end of the stockade the lower gate 
swung open just before me and I glanced back, half 
pausing as I realized the old borderer had not followed 
us; then some one tripped me, and I fell headlong. 
With a sudden rush, De Croix swept by. 

“ France wins. Monsieur ! ” he cried back in mock- 
ing triumph, as I staggered to my knees. 


170 


CHAPTER XVII 


A CONTEST OF WITS 

HOUGH I was never of 
hasty or violent temper, it 
was quite as well that I 
failed to gain a sight of 
De Croix as I passed the 
posts and the sentry clanged 
the gate behind me. The 
Frenchman’s scurvy trick 
would have heated cooler 
blood than mine; nor was my spirit soothed by the 
harsh fall I suffered. But De Croix had not waited; 
nowhere along the bare sunlit parade was he visible. 
I saw nothing but a squad of grinning soldiers loung- 
ing beside the barracks, until Captain Wells, issuing 
from the guard-house door, caught sight of me and 
came forward. 

‘‘ Back, are you. Master Wayland? ” he said 
gruffly, and ’twas easy to see he did not approve of 
my escapade. “ I scarcely thought to see you here 
again with so full a head of hair, after I learned of 
171 




WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 

your mad wager. Providence must indeed take special 
care of fools. Have the redskins captured our French 
friend? ’’ 

“ He entered a step in my advance.’^ 

A gleam of amusement played over his swarthy 

face. 

‘‘ Ah, and so you let him win ! ” he exclaimed ; 
he, a mere voyager from the courts, unused to forest 
play! Such remissness deserves the guard-house, at 
the very least. Come, how happened it that this gay 
sprig outfooted you?” 

“ 'T was but a trick,” I retorted, aroused by these 
contemptuous words, ‘‘ and one I shall make him pay 
well for. But I pray you cut these bands and set me 
free.” 

I think he had not noticed them before ; but now, 
as he quickly drew his knife across the deerskin 
thongs, his whole expression changed. 

‘‘ ’T is Indian tying,” he said earnestly ; you 
have been in the hands of the savages? ” 

“ Ay ! ” and the memory of it instantly brought 
back the recollection of the sacrifice that had won us 
our freedom. “ There were three of us taken at day- 
light on the river bank, beyond the factory building. 
De Croix and I escaped through the efforts of one who 
is still a prisoner, and marked for torture.” 

Many were gathering about us by this time, 
anxious to learn whatever news I brought from with- 
172 


A CONTEST OF WITS 


out ; but it was Captain Heald himself who now pushed 
his way through the throng until he fronted me. 

“ Who was it? ” he asked, sharply. “We have 
lost no men ! ” 

“ His name is Bums, sir. I ran across him just 
back of the Kinzie house.” 

“Burns? Ol* Tom Burns?” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

Heald laughed, a look of evident relief on his 
haggard features. 

“We shall not have to worry much as to his fate,” 
he said, turning toward Wells. “You remember the 
fellow, William? He was one of Mad Anthony’s 
scouts, and came west with you in 1803 when you 
first held council here.” 

The other nodded, a twinkle of pleasant recol- 
lection in his eyes. “ Remember him? ” he repeated. 
“ I am not likely ever to forget him. He it was who 
brought me your message at Fort Wayne a month 
ago. My sympathies in this case are entirely with 
the Indians. There are likely to be things happening 
when or Tom is around, unless he has lost his ver- 
satility and nerve in recent years. Come, my lad, 
give us the details of the story, for it must be worth 
the hearing if OF Burns played a leading part. He 
is as full of tricks as a dog of fleas.” 

I repeated the story briefly, for I was now eager 
to be away before De Croix could dress and claim his 

173 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


wager. I knew well the conceited coxcomb would 
never seek the presence of Mademoiselle until he had 
shed the rags he wore on entering the Fort. I remem- 
ber yet that throng of faces, anxious yet amused, peer- 
ing over each other’s shoulders to get a better view of 
me as I talked, and constantly augmented as the word 
passed quickly about the garrison thait we had safely 
returned from our midnight adventures. 

‘‘You will send aid to him?” I questioned, as I 
concluded, my eyes fixed appealingly upon Captain 
Heald. 

“ Not I,” was the prompt and decisive rejoinder. 
“No soldier of this command shall leave the stockade 
until the hour for our final departure. The fellow had 
a chance to come in here with the others before the 
gates were closed, but was obstinate as a mule, and 
must now take the consequences. But you need not 
worry about Or Tom, my boy ; he ’ll circumvent those 
red devils in some way, you may rest assured, nor 
would he even thank us for interference. I have no 
force with which to control the horde of savages that 
surround us here. A clash of arms would be their 
excuse for immediate attack, and might mean death 
and torture to the whole garrison. Our only hope lies 
in being permitted to pass out without armed collision ; 
and to do this requires that we ignore such hidden 
deeds. ’Twas a mad prank of yours last night, and 
might have involved us all in common ruin. Go this 

174 


A CONTEST OF WITS 


time free, except for these words of censure; for you 
are not directly under my orders. Another such at- 
tempt, subversive of all discipline, and the gates of 
Dearborn will be closed against you.” 

These harsh expressions stung me, but I felt them 
in a measure merited, and made no reply. 

“ ’T was but the act of a boy, Heald,” interposed 
V>/^ells kindly, resting his hand upon my shoulder, 
“ and you will find the lad well worth having when 
time of trial comes.” 

I slipped away through an opening in the curious 
throng, and hastened across the open parade toward 
the messroom. I felt dust-covered and bruised from 
my rough experiences, and hoped to discover oppor- 
tunities for a bath. The building called the mess- 
room was long, running nearly half the length of the 
stockade, built like the others of logs, two stories in 
height, and containing a number of rooms. The single 
flight of stairs, opening just within the porch, was ex- 
ceedingly rude, and built without any protecting rail. 
I hesitated a moment when fairly within the entrance, 
scarce knowing which way to turn in search of what 
I sought; but as I waited there, a light step sounded 
upon the bare floor above, and glancing up, with 
quickened beat of the heart, my eyes caught the soft 
drapery of a woman as she stepped on the upper stair. 

I could scarcely have retreated had I wished to 
do so, though I realized instantly who it was, and drew 

175 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


back against the wall, so that she came down, singing 
lightly to herself, without noticing my presence until 
we were face to face. It was a picture to touch the 
heart of any man, and abide forever in the memory. 
I saw the sunlight as it streamed through an upper 
window along the rough log wall and flecked her white 
dress with ever-changing spots of quivering gold, and, 
as she drew nearer to my standing-place, played softly 
amid the masses of her dark-brown hair, giving it a 
tinge of glory. How daintily fair she was ! how archly 
sweet looked the clear girlish face under the coquettish 
sweep of the broad hat! and with what unconscious 
grace she moved down the rude stairway, one white 
hand steadying her against the brown logs, the other 
gathering her draperies so close that I could not be 
blind to the daintily slippered foot that shyly peeped 
below the petticoat of ruffled silk. I may not have 
loved her then as I learned to do in later days, but my 
heart throbbed riotously at her presence, and I stood 
forgetful of all else. 

As she turned aside at the foot of the stairs, she 
saw me, and the color deserted her face, only to 
return instantly in deeper volume, while her tell-tale 
eyes hid themselves behind long lashes. 

“And are you indeed returned. Master Way- 
land? ” she asked quickly, conquering her first emotion 
with a proud uplifting of her head. “You surprised 
me greatly. I think I first mistook you for a ghost 
176 


A CONTEST OF WITS 


come back to haunt me for having despatched you 
on so perilous a quest. You cannot know how I have 
been scolded for doing such a thing; yet surely you 
would have gone, even if I had failed to encourage it.” 

“ Perhaps so, Mademoiselle,” I answered, hoping 
I might lead her to speak with greater seriousness; 
“ but it was the hope of the reward that spurred me 
forward.” 

“ Ah, of course,” she said deliberately ignoring 
her own offer, and with a reckless toss of her head, 
“ you sought a fair girl for whose sake you have trav- 
elled far. Pray tell me. Monsieur, — I am so curious 
to know, — do you truly think Josette fairer than I? ” 

She spoke so lightly, smiling softly into my eyes, 
that I hardly detected the faint tinge of regretful 
sarcasm in her low voice. 

“Josette, you ask me? Why, Josette is indeed a 
most charming girl. Mademoiselle; but to my mind 
there can be no comparison between her and you, for 
you are the fairest woman I have ever known.” 

Her dark eyes were full upon me, and I saw her 
parted lips move as if she would speak. But no words 
came, and we stood there silent except for the ner- 
vous tapping of her foot against the floor. Her look 
of seriousness changed into a smile. 

“ By my faith, but you pay compliments with so 
grave a countenance. Monsieur, that I hardly know 
how to receive them. Most men whisper such things 

12 177 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


with a light laugh, or a twinkle of the eye, and I 
know their words to be empty as bubbles of air. But 
you, — why, you almost make me feel you are in 
earnest.” 

“And I am,” I interrupted, longing to seize her 
hand as I knew De Croix would have done, and pour 
forth the words that burnt upon my lips. “ I have not 
been privileged to see much of the great outside world. 
Mademoiselle, — the world of courts and cities, — nor 
do I know how lovely its women may be ; but no ideal 
formed in dreams satisfies me as you do. I know 
naught of idle compliments, nor the graces of a cour- 
tier; but my words are from the heart.” 

“ I do truly believe and trust you, John Way- 
land,” and she gave me her hand. “ But let us talk of 
this no longer. My vanity is already more than satis- 
fied by your frank and honest speech. And so you 
found Josette? ” 

“ Yes,” I answered, scarce noting what it was I 
said, so puzzled was I by her quick retreat. 

“ And that meeting, perchance, was so pleasant 
that it has taken your thought from all else? It must 
indeed be so, or why is it that Master Wayland doth 
not claim of me the stake of the wager? ” 

“ Because,” I stammered, greatly embarrassed by 
her roguish questioning eyes, “ I fear it has not been 
fairly won.” 

“ Not fairly won? ” she echoed, puzzled by my 
178 


A CONTEST OF WITS 


tone and manner. “ Surely you have made the trip, 
and the terms were plain. Really, Monsieur, you 
do not think I would withhold so small a reward from 
the winner? ” 

“ But there was another, — the prize was destined 
for him who came back first.” 

“And has Captain de Croix returned also?” 

“We arrived together. Mademoiselle, but it was 
his good fortune to be earliest through the gate.” 

’T was good to see how her face lit up with the 
amusement this reply afforded her. 

“ Pish ! but you are in truth the most marvellous 
man I ever knew. ^T is good to meet with such open 
honesty; and when did maid ever have before so un- 
selfish a cavalier to do her honor? Monsieur, I greatly 
doubt if Captain de Croix will prove so thoughtful 
when his hour comes.” 

“ You are right, Toinette,” broke in a voice at my 
back. “ I know not what Master Wayland may be 
yielding up so easily, but, like the Shylock of your 
William Shakespeare, I am here to claim my pound 
of flesh.” 

I wheeled and faced him, standing firmly between 
his approach and the girl, my blood instantly boiling 
at the familiar soimd of that drawling voice. 

“I have refused to accept from Mademoiselle 
what I had not fairly earned,” I said, with quiet em- 
phasis, “ and so, no doubt, will you.” 

179 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


There was that about my words and action that 
astonished him, and for the moment his old audacity 
was gone as he swept a puzzled glance over our faces. 
I have often reflected upon the contrast we must have 
presented to her sight as we stood there, — for De 
Croix had donned his best attire, and was once again 
resplendent in frills and ribbons, with heavily pow- 
dered hair. 

Oh, most certainly, what I have not earned,” he 
said at length, but the kiss promised is surely mine 
by every right, as I was the first in.” 

** 'T was done by a most scurvy trick.” 

‘‘Poof! what of that? ’T is the same whether 
the goal be won by wit and strategy, or mere fleetness 
of foot. Toinette will make no such fine distinction, 
I warrant you.” 

“ Mademoiselle,” and I turned toward the smiling 
girl, who seemingly enjoyed our interchange of com- 
pliments, “ what may have been your understanding 
of this wager? ” 

“ Why,” she answered slowly, endeavoring to 
recall the details to mind, “ Captain de Croix declared 
he would willingly make the trip for a touch of rosy 
lips, and in a spirit of venture I promised that which- 
ever of you two first completed the journey and re- 
turned here should obtain such reward.” 

“ There, ’t is plain enough,” he cried, stroking his 
mustache complacently, “ and I have won.” 

i8o 


A CONTEST OF WITS 

“ Most surely you have,” I retorted, “ and the 
reward has already been given you.” 

“ Been given? ” she questioned, “ and by whom? ” 

“The girl Josette.” 

She looked from the one to the other of us, puzzled 
for a brief moment at the odd situation. Then, as her 
eyes settled upon De Croix’s flushed and angry face, 
she laughed gaily, even as she daintily drew aside her 
skirts to pass us by. 

“ Pish, Monsieur ! ” she cried, shaking her finger 
at him, “ I doubt it not. No, you need not deny it, for 
’tis but one of your old-time tricks, as I knew them 
well at Montreal. ’T would be no more than right 
were I even now to reward Master Wayland, for he 
hath truly won it, — yet for that I will delay awhile.” 

And with a flash of her dark eyes that held us 
speechless, she was gone. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


GLIMPSES OF DANGER 

F any trace of anger held 
place in my heart, it utterly 
vanished as I noted the be- 
wildered surprise with which 
De Croix gazed after Made- 
moiselle’s departing figure. 

^^SsLcrel** he exclaimed 
presently, turning toward 
me, his face flushed, and for- 
getful of all his well-practised graces. ‘‘ ’T was an 
unworthy trick. Master Wayland, and one I am not 
likely to forget.” 

“ ’T was a moment ago,” I answered, in great 
good-humor at his discomfiture, “ that you claimed wit 
was as important a factor as fleetness of foot in the 
winning of a race. I did no more than illustrate your 
theory. Monsieur.” 

The humor of it failed to touch him, and there 
was a direct menace in his manner which caused me 
to fall back a step in the narrow passage and front him 
warily. 

182 



GLIMPSES OF DANGER 


“No boor of the woods shall laugh at me ! ” he 
exclaimed, his eyes aflame with passion, “ be the cause 
love or war. What mean all these sly tricks of speech 
and action? — this hurried message to the ear of 
Mademoiselle? By my faith, you did not even pause 
to wash the dust from off your face before you sought 
her company. ’T is strange such intimacy could spring 
up between you in so short a time! But mark you 
this, Master Wayland, once and for all; I have not 
voyaged here from Montreal to be balked in my plans 
by the interference of an uncouth adventurer. I give 
you now fair warning that if you ever step again 
between Toinette and me, naught but the decision of 
steel shall end our quarrel.” 

That he was indeed in deadly earnest, and in- 
dulged in no vain threat, I well knew ; his passion was 
too strongly painted on his face. My own temper rose 
in turn. 

“ I hear your words, Monsieur,” I returned coldly, 
“and care no more for them than for a child’s idle 
boasting. There is naught between Mademoiselle and 
me that the whole world might not know. We are 
good friends enough, but if by any chance love should 
be bom from that friendship, no French gallant, though 
he sport a dozen swords, shall come between us. Win 
her if you can by reckless audacity and lavishness of 
perfume, but dream not to frighten me away from her 
presence by the mutterings of bravado. I am the son 

183 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


of a soldier, Monsieur, and have myself borne arms 
in battle.” 

“ You will fight, then? ” 

‘‘With pleasure, whenever the occasion arises,” 
I replied slowly, struggling hard to keep back more 
bitter words. “ But I see none at present, and, if I mis- 
take not, all our skill at arms will soon be needed to 
save this girl, as well as ourselves, from savage hands.” 

I know not how we would have parted, for ’t was 
evidently his wish to goad me on to fight; and there 
are times when passion overwhelms us all. But at that 
moment I heard the soft rustle of a dress, and wheeled 
to face the fair young wife of Lieutenant Helm. It 
was plain she had been weeping; but De Croix, ever 
quicker than I in such matters, was first to accost her 
in words of courtesy. A pretty face to him was instant 
inspiration. 

“We bow to you, Madame,” he exclaimed with 
excessive gallantry, doffing his hat till it swept the 
stairs; “your coming makes the very sunshine a 
brighter gold.” 

“ I trust it may bring peace as well,” she answered, 
striving to smile back at him, although trouble yet 
shadowed her sweet face ; “ surely my ears caught the 
sound of harsh words.” 

“ A slight misunderstanding, which will hardly 
grow to any serious end,” he protested. 

“ I trust not, gentlemen, for the time is come when 
184 


GLIMPSES OF DANGER 


we women at Dearborn surely need you all to protect 
us. Our case already appears desperate.” 

“ Has something new occurred,” I questioned 
anxiously, ‘‘that makes you more alarmed?” 

Her eyes, grown strangely serious once more, 
swept our faces. 

“ Y ou may neither of you comprehend this in its 
full meaning as clearly as I do,” she returned gravely, 
“ for I am frontier-bred, and have known the Indian 
character from childhood. We have long been ac- 
quainted, in my father's family, with many of the chiefs 
and warriors now encamped around us. We have 
traded in their villages, lived with them in their smoke- 
stained tepees on the great plains, and trusted them as 
they showed faith in us. You, I learn,” and she looked 
at me more intently, “were at my father's house no 
later than last night. In spite of rumors of war and 
tightly guarded Fort-gates, you found his door wide 
open to whosoever might approach, with never a 
dog to bark at an intruder, be he white or red. This 
is because the Silver-man has always dealt fairly with 
the Indian, and won his respect and gratitude in re- 
turn. Now, in time of peril this trader dares to believe 
in their good faith toward him and his. 'T is because 
of this I know so well all that is going on without, and 
have been able to inform Captain Heald of much his 
scouts were unable to discover. From the first there 
have been two factions among the savages gathered 

185 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


yonder ; and whether we live or die may depend upon 
which counsel prevails among them — that of peace or 
that of war. Until within an hour I have hoped it 
might be peace, — that the older chiefs would hold 
their young men in control, and the red wampum be 
not seen at Dearborn. Twenty minutes ago one of the 
noblest advocates of peace, — a Pottawattomie warrior 
named Black Partridge, — sought interview with Cap- 
tain Heald, and his words have shown me how des- 
perate indeed has our situation become.” 

“He threatened?” broke in De Croix, his hand 
upon his sword-hilt. 

“ Nay, Monsieur, ’t is not the way of an Indian, 
nor is Black Partridge one to indulge in vain words. 
I have known him long; in childhood I sat upon his 
knee, and believe him so friendly to the whites that 
naught but a sense of duty could move him otherwise. 
Yet, as I say, he came just now to the commandant 
of this garrison, and returned a medal once given him 
by the government. It was done sadly, and with 
deep regret, — for I overheard his speech. He said: 
‘ Father, I come to deliver up to you the medal I wear. 
It was given me by the Americans, and I have long 
worn it in token of our mutual friendship. Our young 
men are resolved to imbue their hands in the blood 
of the whites. I cannot restrain them, and I will not 
wear a token of peace while I am compelled to act 
as an enemy.’ ” 


i86 


GLIMPSES OF DANGER 


She stopped, her agitated face buried in her hands, 
and neither of us spoke. The solemnity of her words 
and manner were most impressive. 

“You feel, then, that the die is cast?” asked De 
Croix, all lightness vanished from his voice. 

“ I believe we march forth from these walls to our 
death to-morrow.” 

“ But why,” I protested, “should you, at least, take 
part in such hazard? Your father’s family, you tell us, 
will be safe from attack. Surely, that home might also 
prove your refuge? ” 

The little woman, with the face of a girl, looked 
up at me indignantly through her tears. 

“ Lieutenant Helm marches with the troops,” she 
answered quietly, “ and I am his wife.” 

I retain no memory, at this late day, of what con- 
versation followed. I know that De Croix in his easy 
carelessness about the future, sought to laugh at her 
fears and restore a feeling of hopefulness ; but all my 
thoughts were elsewhere, — upon the grave dilemma 
in which we found ourselves, and my duty to these 
helpless ones upon every side. 

I must have left the two standing there and con- 
versing, though just how I moved, and why, is dim 
to me. I recall crossing the bare parade, and noting 
the company that formed the little garrison drawn up 
in the shadow of the south stockade. At any other 
time I should have paused in interest, for military 

187 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


evolutions always attracted my attention; but then 
I had no sense other than that of mental and physical 
exhaustion from the hours of toil and lack of rest. 
Owing to my absence the night before, no quarters 
had been assigned me ; but finding the barracks of the 
troops unoccupied, and yielding to imperative need, 
I flung myself, without undressing, upon a vacant 
bunk, and lay there tossing with the burden of intense 
fatigue. 

And then how the thoughts I sought to banish 
thronged upon me! No effort of my will could shut 
them out. I went over again and again the quarrel 
with De Croix, the incidents of the night, the solemn 
words of Mrs. Helm. Little by little, each detail clear 
and absolute, there unrolled before my mind’s view 
the picture of our situation. I saw it as a frontiersman 
must, in all its grim probabilities. The little isolated 
Fort was cut off from all communication, held by a 
weakened garrison. Hope of rescue there was none. 
Without were already gathered hundreds of warriors 
attracted by rumors of war and promise of pillage; 
and these were growing in number and increasing in 
ferocity each day. I had ridden through them once, 
when their mood was only to annoy, and realized with 
a shudder of horror what it would mean to face them 
in our retreat, with all restraint of their chiefs removed. 
I thought of those long leagues of tangled forest-land 
stretching between us and the nearest border settle- 
188 


GLIMPSES OF DANGER 


merits, of ambuscades, of constant and harassing at- 
tack on the ever-thinning column as we fought for 
each foot of the way. Once my mind dwelt for an 
instant upon the quiet home I had left on the banks 
of the Maumee; as my eyes filled at the memory I 
drove it from me, for the present necessity was all too 
stem to permit indulgence in such weakness. 

’T was of the women and children I thought most, 
and their probable fate if we failed to win a passage. 
The half-framed thought of such a possibility made my 
heart throb with dread apprehension, as I set my lips 
together in firm resolve. What had become of Roger 
Matherson’s orphan child? *T was indeed strange that 
I could gain no trace of the little girl. At the Fort 
they said she was with the Kinzies, at Kinzies* they 
told me she was at the Fort. It was, as Seth had 
prophesied, like seeking after a will-o’-the-wisp; yet 
surely she must be in the flesh somewhere. My plain 
duty was to find her at once; and I resolved to take 
up the task anew that day, and question every one I 
met till some trace yielded to my persistency. How- 
ever, I needed first to sleep ; but as I resolutely closed 
my eyes, there came gliding into my memory another 
face, — an arch, happy face, with softly rounded 
cheeks and dark laughing eyes, a face that mirrored 
a hundred moods, and back of them all a sweet 
womanly tenderness to make every mood a new and 
rare delight. Toinette! — never before was woman’s 
189 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


name so pleasant to my lips. Ignorant as I was in 
mysteries of the heart, I knew not clearly whether I 
loved her, though this I knew beyond cavil, — no 
savage hand should ever touch her while I lived ; and 
if I had to fight each step of the path from that ac- 
cursed spot to Wayne, I swore within my heart she 
should come safe through. Her gentle memory was 
with me when all the rest yielded to the drowsy god, 
and in sheer exhaustion I slept — to dream. 


190 


CHAPTER XIX 


A CONFERENCE AND A RESOLVE 

O my mind, the risk would 
be extreme; and I greatly 
doubt the wisdom of the 
step/^ 

‘‘But, William, what other 
alternative offers us any 
hope?” 

“ I confess I know not, for 
your last mistake has greatly 
aggravated the situation.” 

I sat up hastily, for seemingly these words were 
spoken at the very side of the bunk on which I lay. 
As I glanced about me I saw the room was vacant; 
so I knew the conference thus accidentally overheard 
must be taking place in an adjoining apartment. I 
was thoroughly awake when Captain Heald’s voice 
spoke again. 

“ You say a mistake, — what mistake?” he ques- 
tioned, as though aggrieved. “ I have done no more 
than simply obey the orders of my superior officer.” 

191 



WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“That may be true,” broke in the gentler tones 
of Lieutenant Helm, “but of that we are unable to 
judge, for not one of your officers has been privileged 
to see those orders.” 

“ You shall see them now. If I have been remiss 
in taking you into my confidence in these grave mat- 
ters, it has been because of certain malcontents in the 
garrison with whom I hesitated to confer.” 

There was a rustle of paper, and Heald read 
slowly. I failed to distinguish the opening words, but 
as he reached the more important portion of the docu- 
ment his utterance grew deeper, and I heard distinctly 
this sentence: 

“ Evacuate the post if practicable, and in that event distribute 
the property belonging to the United States in the Fort, and in the 
factory or agency, to the Indians in the neighborhood.” 

There was a pause as he concluded. Captain 
Wells spoke first. 

“ To my mind, these orders are not positive, and 
leave much to your discretion. Who brought the 
message, and when? ” 

“ A Wyandot named Winnemeg. He reached 
here on the ninth.” 

“ I have heard the name, and believe him worthy 
of confidence. Did you advise with him? ” 

“ Ay ! Though he had no oral message from Gen- 
eral Hull, he counselled immediate evacuation. I also 
felt such action to be wise; but things were in such 
192 



“ There was a rustle of paper, and Heald read slowly : 
Evacuate the post if practicable.’ ” 




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A CONFERENCE AND A RESOLVE 


condition within the Fort, — so large a number of 
helpless women and children to be provided for, and so 
heavy a proportion of the garrison on the sick-list, — 
that I found it impossible to act promptly. The In- 
dians gathered so rapidly without, and assumed so 
hostile a manner, that I thought it suicidal to attempt 
a march through the wilderness, encumbered as we 
should be, without some positive understanding with 
their chiefs.” 

“ I can easily comprehend all this, and that you 
have sought to act for the best,” was Wells’s com- 
ment ; “ but I fail to realize how you hoped to appease 
those same Indians by the wanton destruction last 
night of the liquor thrown into the river. It was done 
in direct opposition to the orders you have just read, 
and is bound to increase the hatred of the savages. 
You may be sure they are not ignorant of the contents 
of your despatch, and must resent the destruction of 
property they consider their own.” 

“’Twas done upon the advice of two of their 
leading chiefs.” 

“Indeed! Which two?” 

“Topenebe and Little Sauk.” 

“The two biggest devils in that whole Potta- 
wattomie camp, and the head and front of their war- 
party! Their purpose is clear enough to my mind, 
and seamed with treachery. Well, Heald, from my 
knowledge of Indian nature I must say that whoever 

'3 193 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


goes forth now to confer with yonder redskins has 
a desperate mission; but if you are still determined 
upon such a conference, I will take my chances with 
you. ’T is given unto man but once to die.” 

** No, William,” replied Captain Heald, with 
more firmness. ‘‘ It is your part to remain here in 
protection of your niece, my wife; and if my own 
officers refuse to volunteer in this service, I shall 
go forth alone to meet the chiefs. It is my duty as 
commandant.” 

“ Two of your officers are here,” said Wells, “ and 
they can probably answer for themselves. Ensign 
Ronan is not present.” 

“ He is acting as officer of the day,” returned 
Heald, somewhat stiffly, “ and is therefore not eligible 
for such service. Perhaps one of the officers here 
present possesses courage enough for the venture?” 

Apparently neither cared to express himself, after 
such an insinuation. At last one, whose voice I recog- 
nized as that of Surgeon Van Voorhis, gave utterance 
to his refusal. 

“ As the only medical officer of the garrison, I feel 
justified in declining to go upon so desperate an ex- 
pedition,” he said gravely. ** It would expose not only 
my own life to unnecessary peril, but the lives of many 
others as well.” 

“ And what say you. Lieutenant Helm? Have 
you also personal scruples?” 

194 


A CONFERENCE AND A RESOLVE 


I could detect a tremor in the younger officer’s 
voice, as he answered promptly. 

** Captain Heald has before this seen me in time 
of danger,” he said quietly, ** and can have no reason 
for ascribing cowardice to me. But I will frankly say 
this, sir, and with all respect to my commanding offi- 
cer, I believe such conference as now proposed with 
the hostile Indians yonder, at this late day, to be per- 
fectly useless, and that every hour’s delay since the 
receipt of orders to evacuate the post has only tended 
to increase our danger and lessen our hope of escape. I 
feel now that our only chance of safety lies in defend- 
ing this stockade against attack until a rescue party 
from the East can reach us. I have a young wife 
among the women of this garrison; to her I owe 
allegiance, as well as to the flag I serve. Feeling as 
I do. Captain Heald, as a soldier I will obey any 
command you give, and will go forth upon this mis- 
sion if ordered to do so, either in your company or 
alone; but I cannot volunteer for such service. I 
believe it to be foolhardy, and that whoever under- 
takes it goes forth to almost certain death.” 

“ Then I shall go alone,” said Heald, sternly ; 
“ nor do I look forward to any such disastrous ending 
to so open a mission of peace.” 

“Wait,” broke in Wells, impulsively. “I have 
a final suggestion to make, if you are resolved to go. 
There rode in my party hither a rattle-brained gallant, 

195 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


bearing a French commission, who ought to prove 
sufficiently reckless to lend you his companionship. 
Faith! but I think it may well suit the fellow. Be- 
sides, if he wore his French uniform it might have 
weight with the reds.” 

‘‘ Who is he? ” asked Heald, doubtfully. I seem 
not to have memory of him.” 

“ He calls himself Captain Villiers de Croix, and 
holds commission in the Emperor’s Guard.” 

Scarcely were the words spoken when I was on 
my feet, all vestige of sleep gone from my eyes. De 
Croix was hardly a friend of mine, since late develop- 
ments, but he had been my comrade for many a league 
of hard forest travel, and I was unwilling to have him 
carelessly sacrificed in a venture regarding the danger 
of which he knew nothing. Besides, I counted on his 
sword to aid in the defence of Mademoiselle. I under- 
stood thoroughly the desperate chances of Indian 
treachery that lay before such a commission as was 
now proposed. It was rash in the extreme ; and only 
the terrors of our position could sanction such an ex- 
periment. The savages that hemmed us in were 
already in an ugly mood, and fully conscious of their 
power. To go forth to them, unarmed and uninvited, 
as Captain Heald coolly proposed doing, was to walk 
open-eyed into a trap which treachery might snap shut 
at any time. It was not my purpose to halt De Croix, 
nor to stand between him and any adventure he might 
196 


A CONFERENCE AND A RESOLVE 


choose to undertake; but I could at least warn him, 
in a friendly spirit, of the imminent danger such a 
thing involved. 

With this thought in mind, I ran hastily across 
the open parade into the officers* mess-hall, hoping 
I might find him loitering there. To my hasty glance, 
the place appeared deserted; and I drew back, won- 
dering where to turn next in search. As I hesitated 
on the threshold, the low voice of Mademoiselle fell 
upon my ear; and at that moment she emerged from 
behind the curtain which divided the officers’ quarters. 

“May I hope you are seeking me?” she asked, 
graciously ; “ for it has been most lonely here all day, 
— even Captain de Croix seems to have forgotten my 
existence.” 

“ It was De Croix I sought,” I answered, some- 
what nettled by her prompt reference to him; “and 
doubtless you are well able to give me trace of him.” 

She studied me keenly, marking an angry note in 
my voice that I sought vainly to disguise. 

“ Forever a quarrel? ” she said, regretfully. “ Do 
you know. Master Wayland, I had thought better of 
you. Surely it is not your nature to be a brawler, and 
always seeking opportunity to show the strong hand! 
What has Captain de Croix done now to make you 
seek him so vengefully? ” 

“ ’T is not in quarrel,” I explained, — I fear with 
ill grace, for her words in his defence were little in- 
197 , 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


clined to mollify me. ‘‘ You may indeed have so poor 
conception of me as to misinterpret my coming; yet 
in truth I seek De Croix in friendship, hoping that 
I may by a chance word serve him.” 

“ Indeed ! what danger threatens, that he needs 
to be warned against? ” 

I hesitated ; for, now that my blood had somewhat 
cooled, my mission seemed a bit foolish. 

“ I insist upon knowing,” she continued haughtily, 
her eyes full upon mine, “ or I shall believe you 
sought him for hostile purpose, and would deceive me 
by fair words.” 

“ Mademoiselle,” I answered gravely, ** you do 
me wrong. Only a few moments ago I chanced to 
overhear a discussion, by the officers of this Fort, re- 
garding a commission to go forth and hold council 
with the Indians. Captain Heald is determined upon 
such a course ; but none will volunteer to accompany 
him, because of the grave danger of savage treachery. 
The Frenchman’s name was mentioned as one reckless 
enough to join with such a party; and I sought to 
warn him ere he accepted blindly. He is hardly a 
friend of mine, — yet it seems no more than fair that 
he should know the full measiure of his peril before 
saying ‘yes.’” 

She came impulsively forward, with quickly ex- 
tended hand, her face aglow. 

“ You are indeed a true heart, John Wayland, and 
198 


A CONFERENCE AND A RESOLVE 


have shamed me rightly. I know well the deceit and 
treachery of Indian nature, and can understand the 
peril such a party would run. Promise me that you 
will prevent Captain de Croix from becoming one of 
them.” 

“ I ? ” I exclaimed in perplexed surprise ; ** I can 
do no more than warn him.” 

“ But you must do more ! ” she cried imperatively. 
** He will surely go if asked. A warning such as you 
propose would only stir his blood. I beg you to 
use your wits a little, so that he may know nothing 
of it.” 

I looked at her, deeply hurt by the interest so 
openly displayed. 

“You are wondrously aroused for the French- 
man’s safety, Mademoiselle ! ” 

“ Yes, though not as you may fancy. Captain de 
Croix came here for my sake, even though no word 
of mine gave him reason for doing so. For this reason 
I could never forgive myself if harm befell him on such 
a journey. ’T would be as if I had lured him to his 
death. So ’tis for my sake, not his, that I ask the 
favor.” 

I leaned against the log wall and thought quickly, 
her anxious eyes never leaving my face. There came 
into my mind a conviction that the girl really loved 
him; and this made the struggle harder 'for me to 
serve him. Nor did I see clearly how it could well be 
199 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


done, save through a sacrifice of myself, such as I 
had never intended. 

‘‘ Surely,” she urged, ‘‘ your wits will conceive 
some way in which it may be done? ” 

“ Yes,” I answered, eager now to hide my own 
feeling from her; “ ’t is not hopeless. You desire 
that he be kept within the Fort, ignorant of this 
commission? ” 

‘'I do ; ’t is the only way.” 

“ Very well, it shall be done. Mademoiselle. No, 
I need no thanks from you. Only do this simple thing, 
which, I am sure, you will find no hardship, — keep 
Captain de Croix from any possible contact with others 
for an hour. Y our eyes will prove sufficient, no doubt, 
to enchain him that long ; if not, use other measures.” 

“ But what will you do? ” 

“ That does not count. ’T is the result, not the 
means, that must content you. I have my plan, and it 
will work ; but I cannot stay here longer to discuss it. 
Only do your part well, and I pledge you the safety 
of De Croix.” 

I left her standing there, the light of questioning 
still in her eyes; but I wished mainly to be safely 
away, where I might hide my own sudden heart-ache 
in the energy of action. 


200 


CHAPTER XX 


IN THE INDIAN CAMP 

T cut me deeply to think 
that this girl would willingly 
sacrifice me to save the 
French gallant from injury, 
and an anxiety to escape her 
presence before I should 
speak words I might always 
regret caused me to leave 
with scant ceremony. Yet I 
was none too soon ; for scarce had I stepped without the 
door when I met Lieutenant Helm ascending the steps. 

** Ah, Wayland ! ” he said, catching sight of me, 
"do you happen to know where I am most likely to 
find Captain de Croix? ** 

" He is scarcely to be disturbed at present, unless 
the matter be truly urgent,” I replied, my plan hastily 
sketched in mind. " Have you arranged a banquet in 
honor of the Frenchman? ” 

" No such good fortune,” was the grave response. 
"Captain Heald desires his company upon an imme- 
diate mission to the Pottawattomie camp.” 



201 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“ Oh, is that all? Well, Captain de Croix will 
hardly be found sufficiently recovered from his late 
adventure to enter upon another one so early. ’T is 
in my thought he either sleeps or is prinking himself 
for more pleasant conquests. But why worry him? 
In my judgment, no poorer choice could be made for 
so serious a task as you propose. He is a mere French 
courtier, — brave enough, and rash, I grant, yet with- 
out knowledge of Indian ways and treachery. Might 
not I answer better as his substitute?” 

“ You?” 

“Ay! and why not? I am frontier-bred, long 
trained in woodcraft and savage ways, and surely far 
better fitted for such a task than is this petted darling 
of the courts. Were it a flirtation, now, the post might 
be truly his.” 

“ *T is true, you woiild be my choice ; but do you 
realize the peril involved?” 

“ Fully, my friend, yet scarce think it so desperate 
as you imagine. It is my judgment the savages yonder 
are seeking bigger game than so small a party would 
afford, and will therefore allow us to go free. However, 
if it should prove otherwise,” and I spoke the words 
with a sore heart as I recalled what had just occurred, 
“I am a lone man in the world, and to such an one 
death is not so terrible, even at Indian hands. Come, 
I will go with you to confer with Captain Heald, and 
offer him my services. He can do no more than refuse.” 


202 


IN THE INDIAN CAMP 


Helm offered no further objection, doubtless 
feeling it useless in my venturesome mood; and we 
crossed the parade together without speaking. 

Captain Wells was the first to see me as we en- 
tered, and some instinct told him instantly of my 
purpose. 

“Ah, Wayland, my boy! I have been troubled 
lest you might chance to hear of our plight, and jump 
in. Come now, lad I *t was not you we sent after, nor 
can we use you in so grave a matter.” 

“And pray, why not?” I questioned, a little 
touched by this evidence of kindness, yet firmly deter- 
mined to keep my pledge to Mademoiselle. “ I am 
a better man for such deeds than the Frenchman, and 
am eager to go.” 

“ So this is not your Captain de Croix? ” said 
Captain Heald, eying me curiously. “ Saint George ! 
but he is a big fellow, — the same who made the race 
last night, or I mistake greatly. And what is this 
man’s name? ” 

“ It is John Wayland,” I answered, anxious to 
impress him favorably ; “ a frontiersman of the 
Maumee country, and fairly skilled in Indian ways. 
I have come to volunteer my services to go with 
you.” 

“ You are anxious to die? have the spirit of a 
Jesuit, perchance, and are ambitious of martyrdom? ” 

“ Not unusually so, sir, but I think the danger 
203 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


overrated by these gentlemen. At least, I am ready 
and willing to go.” 

“ And so you shall, lad ! ” cried the old soldier, 
striking a hand upon his knee. ‘‘ You are of the race 
of the long rifles ; I know your kind well. Not another 
word, William! here is a man worth any twenty of your 
French beaux strutting with a sword. Now we start 
at once, and shall have this matter settled speedily.” 

The earliest haze of the fast-descending twilight 
was hovering over the level plain as we two went forth. 
In the west, the red tinge of the sun, which had just 
disappeared below the horizon, lingered well up in 
the sky. Against it we could see, clearly outlined in 
inky blackness, the distant Indian wigwams; while 
to the eastward the crimson light was reflected in 
fantastic glow upon the heaving surface of the lake. 
For a moment we paused, standing upon the slope of 
the mound on which the Fort was built, and gazed 
about us. There was little movement to arrest the eye. 
The dull, dreary level of shore and prairie was de- 
serted; what the more distant mounds of sand or 
the overhanging river banks might hide of savage 
watchers, we could only conjecture. Seemingly the 
mass of Indian life, which only the day before had 
overflowed that vacant space, had vanished as if by 
some sorcerer’s magic. To me, this unexpected silence 
and dreary barrenness were astounding ; I gazed 
about me fairly bewildered, almost dreaming for the 
204 


IN THE INDIAN CAMP 


moment that our foes had lifted the long siege and 
departed while I slept. Heald no doubt read the 
thought in my eyes, for he laid a kindly hand upon my 
sleeve and pointed westward. 

‘‘ They are all yonder, lad, at the camp, — in coun- 
cil, like enough. Mark you, Wayland, how much 
farther to the south the limit of their camp extends 
than when the sun sank last night? Saint George! 
they must have added all of fifty wigwams to their 
village! They gather like crows about a dead body. 
It has an ugly look.” 

“ Yet ’t is strange they leave the Fort unguarded, 
so that the garrison may come and go unhindered. 
’T is not the usual practice of Indian warfare.” 

‘‘Unguarded? Faith! the hundreds of miles of 
wilderness between us and our nearest neighbor are 
sufficient guard. But dream not, my lad, that we 
are unobserved; doubtless fifty pair of skulking eyes 
are even now upon us, marking every move. I venture 
we travel no more than a hundred yards from the gate 
before our way is barred. Note how peaceful the stock- 
ade appears ! But for the closed gates, one would never 
dream it the centre of hostile attack. Upon my word, 
even love-making has not deserted its log-walls ! ” 

I lifted my eyes where he pointed, and even at 
that distance, and through the gathering gloom, I 
knew it was De Croix and Mademoiselle who over- 
hung those eastern palisades in proximity so close. 

205 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


The sight was as fire to my blood, and with teeth 
clinched to keep back the mad utterance of a curse, 
I strode beside Captain Heald silently down the de- 
clivity to the deserted plain below. 

It is my nature to be somewhat chary of speech, 
and to feel deeply and long ; but if I doubted it before, 
I knew now, in this moment of keen and bitter dis- 
appointment, that my heart was with that careless 
girl up yonder, who had sent me forth into grave peril 
apparently without thought, and who cared so little 
even now that she never lifted her eyes from the spark- 
ling water to trace our onward progress. Anger, dis- 
appointment, disgust at her duplicity, her cruel abuse 
of power, swept over and mastered me at the moment 
when I realized more deeply than ever my own love 
for her, and my utter helplessness to oppose her slight- 
est whim. No Indian thongs could bind me half so 
tightly as the false smiles of Toinette. 

Plunged into this whirlpool of thought, I moved 
steadily forward at Captain Heald’s shoulder, uncon- 
scious of what might be taking place about us, and for 
the moment indifferent to the result of our venture. 
But this feeling was not for long. Scarcely had our 
progress taken us across the front of the deserted 
agency building, and beyond the ken of the sentinels 
in the Fort, when a single warrior rose before us as 
from the ground, and blocked the path. He was a 
short, sturdy savage, bare to the waist save for a chain 
206 


IN THE INDIAN CAMP 


of teeth which dangled with sinister gleam about his 
brawny throat, and, from the wide sweep of his shoul- 
ders, evidently possessed of prodigious strength. He 
held a gun extended in front of him, and made a ges- 
ture of v/arning impossible to misapprehend. 

“ What seeks the White Chief? ” he questioned 
bluntly. “ Does he come for peace or v/ar? ” 

The query came with such grave abruptness that 
Heald hesitated in reply. 

“ Never since I have been at Dearborn have I 
sought war,” he replied at last. ‘‘ Little Sauk knows 
this well. We travel now that v/e may have council 
of peace with the chiefs of tlie Pottawattomies. See ! ” 
and he held up both empty hands before the Indian’s 
eyes, ‘‘ we are both unarmed, because of our trust in 
the good faith of your people.” 

Little Sauk uttered a low grimt of disapproval, 
and made no motion to lower his threatening rifle. 

‘‘Ugh! You talk strong! Did any Pottawat- 
tomie send to White Chief to come to coimcil? ” 

“ No,” admitted Heald. “ We com.e because it 
is the wish of the Great Father of the white men down 
by the sea that we talk together of the wrongs of the 
red men, and make proposals of peace between us. 
There is no cause for these rumors of war, and the 
Great Father has heard that the Pottawattomies are 
dissatisfied, and it has made him sad.” 

The Indian looked from one to the other of us 
207 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


in the growing darkness, and made a gesture of 
contempt. 

“ The real Great White Father wears a red coat, 
and is friend to the Pottawattomie,” he said with 
dignity. “ He no lie, no shut Indian out of Fort, no 
steal furs, no throw rum in river. Who this man. 
White Chief? He no soldier, — he long-knife.” 

‘‘ Yes, he is a frontiersman, and came to the Fort 
yesterday with Wau-me-nuk, bringing word of greet- 
ing from the Great Father to the Pottawattomies. He 
goes now with me to council. May we pass on to your 
camp? ” 

For a moment Little Sauk did not answer, step- 
ping closer in order that he might better scan my 
features. Apparently satisfied by the keen scrutiny, 
he turned his broad back upon us and strode off with 
contemptuous dignity. 

“ Come,” he said shortly ; and without further 
word we followed across that dim plain and through 
the thickening darkness. 

The Indian’s step was noiseless, and his figure 
cast the merest shadow; but as we moved onward 
others constantly joined us, stalking out of the black 
night like so many phantoms, gliding silently in their 
noiseless moccasins across the soft grass, until fully 
a dozen spectral forms hedged our pathway and kept 
step to every movement. It was a weird procession, 
through the shifting night-shadows; and although I 
208 


IN THE INDIAN CAMP 


coxild catch but fleeting glimpses of those savage faces 
and half-naked forms, the knowledge of their presence, 
and our own helplessness if they proved treacherous, 
caused my heart to throb till I could hear it in the 
painful silence like the beat of a drum. Now and 
then a guttural voice challenged from the darkness, 
to be instantly answered by those in advance, and 
another savage glided within our narrowed vision, 
scanned us with cruel and curious eyes, and fell in 
with the same silent, tiger-like tread of his fellows. 

It was not long that we were compelled to march 
thus, the gathering warriors pressing us closer at each 
step ; and it was well it proved so soon ended, for the 
grim mockery set my nerves on edge. Yet the change 
was hardly for the better. Just before reaching the 
spot where the river forked sharply to the southward, 
we came to the upper edge of the wigwams, and into 
a bit of light from their scattered fires. There rushed 
out upon us a wild horde of excited savages, warriors 
and squaws, who pushed us about in sheer delirium, 
and even struck viciously at us across the shoulders 
of our indifferent guard, so that it was only by setting 
my teeth that I held back from grappling with the 
demons. But Heald, older in years and of cooler 
blood, laid restraining hands upon my arm. 

“ ’T is but the riff-raff,” he muttered wamingly. 
“ The chiefs will hold them back from doing us serious 
harm.” 


14 


209 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


As he spoke, Little Sauk uttered a gruff order, and 
the grim warriors on our flank drove back the jeering, 
scowling crowd, with fierce Indian cursing and blows 
of their guns, until the way had been cleared for our 
advance. We moved on for two hundred yards or 
more, the maddened and vengeful mob menacing us 
just beyond reach of the strong arms, and howling in 
their anger until I doubted not their voices reached 
the distant Fort. 

We came to a great wigwam of deer-skin, much 
larger than any I had ever seen, with many grotesque 
figures of animals sketched in red and yellow paint 
upon the outside, and clearly revealed by the blazing 
fire without. A medicine-man of the tribe, hideous 
with pigment and high upstanding hair, sat beating 
a wooden drum before the entrance, and chanting 
wildly to a ferocious-looking horde of naked savages, 
many bleeding from self-inflicted wounds, who danced 
around the blaze, the leaping figures in the red glare 
making the scene truly demoniacal. Little Sauk strode 
through the midst of them, unheeding the uproar, and 
flung aside the flap of the tent. 

“ White Chief and Long Knife wait here,” he said 
sternly. “ Come back pretty soon.” 

There was nothing to be seen within, excepting 
some skins flung carelessly upon the short trodden 
grass. We sat down silently upon these, gazing out 
through the narrow opening at the blazing fire and the 


210 


IN THE INDIAN CAMP 


numerous moving figures constantly crowding closer 
about the entrance, both of us too deeply immersed in 
thought to care for speech. 

The black shadows upolTthe tepee cover told me 
that guards had been posted to keep back the rabble 
from intrusion, and once I saw signs of a brief struggle 
in front when the swarm had grown too inquisitive 
and were forced back with scant ceremony. The weird 
dance and incantation continued ; and although I knew 
but little of the customs of the Pottawattomies, there 
was a cruel savagery and ferocity about it which I felt 
held but little promise of peace. 

“ ’T is the war-dance,” whispered Heald in my 
ear, ‘‘ and bodes ill for our purpose. See ! the red 
wampum is in the fellow’s hand.” 

As I bent forward to catch the gleam of it in the 
flames, a new^ figure suddenly flitted past our narrow 
vista, between us and the wild circle of dancers. It 
was a v/oman, attired in fanciful Indian dress; but 
surely no Pottawattomie squaw ever possessed so 
graceful a carriage, or bore so clear a face. 

“ Captain ! ” I ejaculated eagerly. “ Did you see 
that white woman there, with the long skirt and red 
hair?” 

“ Ay ! ” he answered as though he scarce had 
faith in his own eyes. “ I marked not the color of 
her hair, but I saw the lass, and, by Saint George! 
she looked to me like old Roger Matherson’s daughter.” 

2II 


CHAPTER XXI 


A COUNCIL OF CHIEFS 

WAS on my feet in an in- 
stant, forgetful of everything 
excepting my duty to this 
girl whom I had come so far 
to find, and who now was 
plainly a prisoner in Indian 
hands. At the entrance of 
the tepee, a scowling warrior 
pushed me roughly back, 
pretending not to understand my eager words of ex- 
postulation, and, by significant gesture, threatening to 
brain me with his gun-stock if I persisted. A slight 
return of reason alone kept me from striking the 
fellow down and striding over his prostrate body. 
While I stood struggling with this temptation. Captain 
Heald grasped me firmly. 

“ Are you mad, Wayland? ” he muttered, dragging 
me back into the dark interior of the tepee. “ For 
God’s sake, don’t anger these fellows! Think of all 
the helpless lives depending on the success of our 
errand here! What is the girl to you?” 



212 



A COUNCIL OF CHIEFS 


“ I will wait,” I answered, calmed by his earnest- 
ness, and ashamed o£ my boyish impetuosity; “but 
I am here at Dearborn seeking this young woman, 
whom I had supposed rather to be a young child. 
Her father was my father’s dearest friend, and wrote 
us from his death-bed asking our protection for her.” 

“You are Major Wayland’s son, — I remember 
the circumstances now, and that I endorsed such a 
letter. ’T is most strange. This girl disappeared from 
Dearborn some days ago. Mrs. Heald heard the mat- 
ter discussed among the ladies of the garrison, and 
then all supposed her to be at John Kinzie’s in com- 
pany with Josette La Framboise; yet I would almost 
have sworn I saw her again, and not two hours ago, 
within the Fort. By Saint George! the glimpse I got 
just now makes me doubt my own eyesight. She was 
ever an odd creature, — but what can bring her here, 
walking so freely about in this camp of vengeful 
savages? ” 

I could not answer him ; the mystery was beyond 
my clearing. Only, if this was the Elsa Matherson 
for whom I had sought so long, surely God had in 
some way led me on to find her; nor should any peril 
turn my quest aside. 

I had hardly time for this resolve, ere the flap 
of the tepee was held back by a dark hand, and 
in grimly impressive silence warrior after warrior, 
plumed, painted, and gaudily bedecked with savage 
213 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


ornaments, stalked solemnly within, circled about us 
without sign of greeting, and seated themselves cross- 
legged upon the bare ground. The uplifted door-skin 
permitted the red flames from without to play freely 
over their stern, impassive faces, and shone back upon 
us from their glittering eyes. It was an impressive 
scene, their stoical demeanor breathing the deep solem- 
nity of the vast woods and plains amid which their 
savage lives v/ere passed; nor could one fail to feel 
the deep gravity with which they gathered in this 
council of life or death. To them it was evident that 
the meeting was of most serious portent. 

I saw only two faces that I recognized in that 
red ring, — Topenebe and Little Sauk. I knev/, how- 
ever, it was probable there were some great chiefs 
among that company; and I marked especially two, 
one with long white hair, and a tall, slender, rather 
young fellow, having two wide streaks of yellow down 
either cheek. 

The Indians sat motionless, gazing intently at 
us; and I swept the entire dark circle of scowling 
faces, vainly endeavoring to find one hopeful glance, 
one friendly eye. Open hatred, undisguised distrust, 
implacable enmity, were stamped on every feature. 
Whatever our plea might be, I felt convinced that 
the chiefs were here only to carry out their own pur- 
poses and make mock of every offering of peace. 

After several moments of this painful silence, the 
214 


A COUNCIL OF CHIEFS 


chief with the long white hair deliberately lighted a 
large pipe drawn from his belt. It was curiously and 
grotesquely fashioned, the huge bowl carved to re- 
semble the head of a bear. He drew from the stem a 
single thick volume of smoke, breathed it out into the 
air, and solemnly passed the pipe to the warrior seated 
upon his right. With slow deliberation, the symbol 
moved around the impassive and emotionless circle, 
passing from one red hand to another, imtil it finally 
came back to him who had first lighted it. Without 
so much as a word being uttered, he gravely offered 
it to Captain Heald. I heard, and understood, the 
quick sigh of relief with which my companion grasped 
it; he drew a breath of the tobacco, and I followed 
his example, handing back the smoking pipe to the 
white-haired chief without rising, amid the same im- 
pressive silence. 

The Indian leader spoke for the first time, his 
voice deep and guttural. 

“ The Pottawattomies have met in council with 
the White Chief and the Long Knife,” he said soberly, 
“ and have smoked together the peace-pipe. For what 
have the white men come to disturb Gomo and his 
warriors? ” 

I gazed at him with new interest. No name of 
savage chief was wider known along the border in 
those days, none more justly feared by the settlers. 
He was a tall, spare, austere man, his long coarse hair 

215 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


whitened by years, but with no stoop in his figure. 
His eyes, small and keen, blazed with a strange 
ferocity, as I have seen those of wildcats in the dark; 
while his flesh was drawn so closely against his promi- 
nent cheek-bones as to leave an impression of ghast- 
liness, as of a corpse suddenly returned by some 
miracle to life. With dabs of paint across the fore- 
head, and thin lips drawn in a narrow line of cruelty, 
his face formed a picture to be long remembered with 
a shudder. 

It was easy enough to see that Captain Heald 
felt uncertain how far to venture in his proposals, 
though he spoke up boldly, and with no tremor in his 
voice. His long frontier experience had taught him 
the danger that lay in exhibiting timidity in the face 
of Indian scorn. 

“ Gomo,” he said firmly, ** and you other Chiefs 
of the Pottawattomies, there has never been war be- 
tween us. We have traded together for many seasons; 
you have eaten at my table, and I have rested by your 
fires. We have been as brothers, and more than once 
have I judged between you and those who would 
wrong you. I have remembered all this, and have 
now come into your camp through the night, without 
fear and unarmed, that I might talk with you as 
friends. Am I not right to do this? In all the~time 
I have been the White Chief at Dearborn, have I ever 
done wrong to a Pottawattomie? ” 

216 


A COUNCIL OF CHIEFS 


He paused; but no warrior made reply. A low 
guttural murmur ran around the line of listeners, but 
the bead-like eyes never left his face. He went on: 

“ Why should I fear to meet the Pottawattomies, 
even though word had come to me that their young 
men talk war, and seek alliance with our enemy the 
red-coats? The Chiefs have seen war, and are not 
crazed for the blood of their friends. They will re- 
strain such wild mutterings. They know that the 
White Father to the east is strong, and will drive the 
red-coats back into the sea as he did when they fought 
before. They will ally themselves with the strong one, 
and make their foolish young man take up arms for 
their friends.” 

Still no one spoke, no impassive bronze face ex- 
hibited the faintest interest. It was as if he appealed 
to stone. 

“ Is this not so? ” 

“The White Chief has spoken,” was the cold 
reply. “ His words are full of eloquence, but Gomo 
hears nothing that calls for answer. The White Chief 
says not why he has come and demanded council of 
the Pottawattomies.” 

A low murmur, expressive of approval, swept 
down the observant line; but no man among them 
stirred a muscle. 

“ I came for this, Gomo,” said Heald, speaking 
now rapidly, and with an evident determination to 
217 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


trust all in a sentence and have it over with, for it 
was clear the savages were in no mood for diplomatic 
evasion : “ to ask your guidance and protection on our 
march eastward on the morrow. I come to the Potta- 
wattomies as friends; for I fear we may meet with 
trouble on the way, from roving bands of Wyandots 
and Miamis, and we are greatly burdened by our 
women and children. It is to ask this that I and the 
Long Knife are here.” 

“ You say the White Father is strong, and will 
drive the red-coats into the sea: did he at Mackinac? ” 

** There was treachery there.” 

“Ugh! Why, if White Father so strong, you 
leave Fort and go way off? ” 

“ Because just now I can serve him better else- 
where; but we shall come again.” 

“ My young men have rumor that Detroit go like 
Mackinac.” 

“ It is untrue ; your young men bring false news.” 

Gomo turned and looked about him upon the ex- 
pectant warriors; and, as if the glance was an invi- 
tation to free speech, one sitting half-way across the 
circle asked gruffly: 

“ Why you pour out rum, if you love Potta- 
wattomie? ” 

“ Because I am only the White Chief at Dear- 
born,” returned Heald, facing the questioner, “ and, 
like Peesotum who asks, have higher chiefs else- 
218 


A COUNCIL OF CHIEFS 


where whom I must obey. What they tell me I 
have to do.” 

** White Chief lies ! ” was the short, stern answer. 
“ Winnemeg brought no such word.” 

So furious were the many dark, glowering faces, 
that I braced myself, thinking the next moment would 
be one of struggle for life or death; but Gomo held 
them motionless with a wave of his hand. He rose 
slowly to his feet, and faced us with grave dignity. 

“ It is true, as Peesotum says,” he said impres- 
sively. ‘‘ The White Chief has used a double tongue 
to the Red man; yet we will deal fairly with him, 
for he has come to us in peace. White Chief, there 
is to be war between us; Tis the will of our young 
men, and the red wampum has passed among our 
lodges and the lodges of our brothers the Wyandots. 
Yet when you unlock the gates we will go forth with 
you and your people, around the sweep of the water. 
Such is the will of the Great Spirit, and the decision 
of the Pottawattomie in council of chiefs.” 

Heald looked about upon the scowling circle with 
disbelief so clearly expressed in his eyes, that Gomo, 
reading it, turned to his warriors and called upon them 
one by one to say if he spoke the truth. I heard him 
speak thus to Little Sauk, Black Bird, Topenebe, 
Mankia, Pipe Bird, Peesotum, and Ignance; and each 
answered with the low grunt of assent. He fixed his 
eyes upon the younger Indian who had already at- 
219 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


tracted my attention by the manliness of his face as 
well as the yellow stripes that disfigured him. 

“ And you. Black Partridge? ” 

“I have already spoken to the White Chief in 
his own wigwam, and given back the medal of the 
Americans,” was the grave response. “I have no 
more to say.” 

I confess these words chilled me, as I recalled their 
meaning; and Heald half rose to his feet as though 
he would protest, but not a stolid face among the 
warriors changed in expression. Gomo drew his robes 
more closely about his gaunt figure in simple but im- 
pressive dignity. 

“ Doth Shaw-nee-aw-kee go east also with the 
white men? ” he asked. 

“ I have not of late conferred with the Silver-man. 
He has been at his own lodge, and doubtless you may 
know his purpose better than I.” 

“We wish him to stay. He good man; Potta- 
wattomie’s friend.” 

The Indian stood motionless, his eyes watching 
keenly the expression of each face. He added slowly : 

“ The White Chief hears the promise of the Potta- 
wattomies. It is enough. He can go forth in peace 
upon the morrow, with all his warriors, squaws, and 
pappooses, and the people of my nation will walk with 
them as guards. It is our pledge; we will counsel 
no longer.” 


220 


A COUNCIL OF CHIEFS 


At a simple commanding gesture of his long arms, 
the circle melted away through the narrow opening 
as silently as it had gathered, the dark figure of each 
warrior silhouetted for an instant against the red glare 
of the fire, before it suddenly disappeared in the dark- 
ness beyond. At last Little Sauk alone stood between 
us and the blaze. 

“ Come,” he commanded gruffly, “ White Chief 
go back to his people.” 

Enclosed by that same phantom guard of savages, 
we passed out through the limits of the camp; but 
now the rabble paid not the slightest heed to our 
presence. Our mission known, and no longer a mys- 
tery, they treated us with the stolid indifference of 
Indian contempt. I walked with eyes alert upon either 
side of our path for another glimpse of that girlish 
figure that I had seen before so dimly; but we trav- 
ersed nearly the full length of the tepee rows before 
I saw any one that at all resembled her. Even then, 
I was far from certain, until the sudden leaping up 
of a dying fire reflected on her crown of auburn hair, 
and set my heart to throbbing. 

“ Little Sauk ! ” I cried, in my excitement clutch- 
ing his naked arm, ‘‘who is that white girl yonder, 
and how comes she here? ” 

The startled Indian sprang aside, flinging me 
from him with a violence that showed his giant 
strength. 


221 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


** No white girl,’^ he protested, vehemently. “ Pot- 
tawattomie.’* 

“No Pottawattomie has hair like the sunset,” I 
retorted. “ Come, I would speak with the girl.” 

For an instant I saw the bead-like eyes of the 
savage glittering in the darkness and wandering where 
I pointed. He faced me doggedly. 

“ Long Knife leave Indian maid alone,” he said 
grimly. “ Long Knife go Fort ; no talk.” 

I was in a mood to resist the fellow’s dictation, 
and reckless enough of consequences at that moment 
to take the chance; but Heald interfered. 

“ You can serve her far better, lad, in that way,” 
he muttered hastily. “We shall not always be two 
to twelve.” 

With teeth gritted to keep back the fierce anger 
that shook me, I strolled sullenly on, not even ven- 
turing to glance back lest I should give way. It was 
thus we reached the Fort gate, and entered, leaving our 
dusky escort to slink back into the night. An anxious 
crowd met us. It was Wells who questioned first. 

“ So those devils have let you go unharmed? 
What answer made the savages? ” 

“ They pledge us safe convoy around the head 
of the lake.” 

“ They do? Who spoke the words of the pledge? ” 

“ Old Gomo himself, and it was ratified by each 
of the chiefs in turn.” 


222 


A COUNCIL OF CHIEFS 


“They are lying dogs, — all but one of them. 
What answered Black Partridge?” 

Heald made no response; and Wells wheeled im- 
petuously to me. 

“ Come, lad, the truth, — what reply did Black 
Partridge make to this Indian mummery?” 

“ He said, ‘ I have already spoken to the White 
Chief in his own wigwam, and given back the medal 
of the Americans, and have nothing more to say.* *’ 

For a moment the old Indian soldier stared at 
me, his stern face fairly black with the cloud in his 
eyes. He brought his clinched hand down hard against 
the log wall. 

“ By God ! it is treachery ! ** he exclaimed fiercely, 
and turned and walked away. 


223 


CHAPTER XXII 


THE LAST NIGHT AT DEARBORN 

T was evident that prepara- 
tions were even then well 
under way for retreat the 
following morning. Trunks 
and boxes, together with 
various military stores and 
arms, strewed the sides of 
the parade-ground; farther 
back, a number of wagons, 
partially filled, stood waiting the remainder of their 
loads. Men and women were hastening back and 
forth, and children were darting through the shadows, 
their little arms piled high with bimdles, and making 
play, as children ever will, of what was to prove an 
awful tragedy. A large fire, burning brightly before 
the deserted guard-house, cast its ruddy glow over the 
animated scene, checkering the rude walls with every 
passing shadow. 

I noticed, as I slowly pushed my way along, that 
the soldiers worked seriously, with few jests on their 
224 




THE LAST NIGHT AT DEARBORN 


lips, as if they realized the peril that menaced them; 
while many among the women, especially those of the 
humbler sort, were rejoicing over the early release 
from garrison monotony, and careless of what the 
morrow might bring of danger and suffering. 

A few steps from the gate, I paused for a moment 
that I might watch their flitting figures, the incessant 
bustle being a positive relief after the dull and ghostly 
silence without. My mind, — though I strove to cast 
the thought aside, — was still occupied with the mys- 
tery of Elsa Matherson ; but the more I dwelt upon it, 
the less I was able to penetrate the secret of her 
strange presence in the Indian camp, or devise any 
scheme for reaching her. The ache in my heart made 
me dread to meet again with Mademoiselle Toinette, 
lest I should utter words of reproach which she did 
not deserve; for, sad as such a confession was, I had 
to acknowledge that she had a perfect right to protect 
the man she loved, even at my cost. 

Nor did I greatly desire to run upon De Croix. 
I knew his temper fairly well, and doubtless by this 
time he had learned the story of my interference, and 
would be in fit mood for a quarrel. Still, as seems 
often to be the case at such a time, before I had taken 
a dozen steps away from the gate, I met him face to 
face. It was a jaunty picture he made in the glare 
of the fire, the fine gentleman sauntering lazily about^ 
with hat of bleached straw pushed rakishly upon his 
15 225 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


powdered hair, and a light cane dangling at his wrist, 
as fashionably attired as if he were loitering upon the 
boulevards of an August evening, his negro man a yard 
behind, bearing a silken fan which flashed golden in 
the radiance. At sight of him, I stopped instantly, 
ready enough to resent attack if that had been his 
purpose, though anxious to avoid violence for the sake 
of Mademoiselle. But he merely laughed as he sur- 
veyed me critically, swinging his bamboo stick as if 
it were a whip-lash. 

''Parbteu, Master Wayland!” he said, seeming 
in rare good-humor, ‘‘ I this moment learned of your 
safe return. ’T would have been an excellent joke had 
the savage found excuse to retain you out yonder, to 
form a part of one of their delightful entertainments I 
Fit revenge, indeed, for the foul deceit you played 
upon me ! ” 

** Think you so. Monsieur? ” for his easy words 
relieved me greatly. It would have been one less 
arm for our defence.” 

‘‘ With safe convoy guaranteed by the Indian 
chiefs, that loss would make small odds,” he replied 
carelessly. ‘‘ But, truly, that was a most scurvy trick 
you played to gain the wager which was offered me. 
But for the happy ending, I should be sorely tempted 
to break this cane across your shoulders in payment 
therefor.” 

“ Indeed ! ” I said ; “ the act might not be as easily 
226 


THE LAST NIGHT AT DEARBORN 

accomplished as you imagine. But what mean you by 
happy ending? Had the savages roasted me over a 
slow fire, I should hardly be here for the pleasure of 
your chastisement.” 

He laughed lightly, his eyes wandering carelessly 
over the throng of figures in front of us. 

“ Saint Guise ! I thought not about your pre- 
dicament, but rather of the happiness which came 
to me in the society of Mademoiselle. In faith, she 
was most gracious with her favor. ’Tis thus you 
did me a great kindness, friend, and have won my 
gratitude.” 

The words were as stinging as he meant them to 
be, for I marked his quick glance into my face. So I 
held my resentment well in check, and smiled back at 
him, apparently unconcerned. 

“ Then we are again even. Monsieur,” I returned 
quietly, and can start anew upon our score. But why 
should I remain here to discuss matters of such small 
import, with all this work unfinished which fronts 
strong men to-night? I will break my long fast, and 
turn to beside these others.” 

He seemed to have further words to say; but I 
minded him not, and pushed past, leaving him to 
saunter where he willed, accompanied by his black 
satellite. If I could not win Mademoiselle, as I now 
felt assured from his boastful speech I could not, I 
might at least work for her greater safety and comfort ; 

227 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


and there was much I could do to help in burying my 
own disappointment. 

For all that, it was a night to live long in the 
memory, — that last night we spent at Dearborn. It 
remains a rare jumble in my mind, — its varied inci- 
dents crowding so fast upon each other as to leave 
small room for thought regarding any one of them. 
Without, the dim black plain stretched away in un- 
broken solemnity and silence; nor did the sentinels 
posted along the v/alls catch glimpse of so much as 
a skulking Indian form amid the grass and sand. A 
half-moon was in the sky, with patches of cloud now 
and then shadowing it, and in the intervals casting its 
faint silver over the lonely expanse and tipping the 
crest of the waves as they crept in upon the beach. 
The great Indian village to the westward was fairly 
ablaze with fires; while the unending procession of 
black dots that flitted past them, together with the 
echo of constant uproar, showed that the savages were 
likewise astir in eager preparation for the morrow. 
We could hear the pounding of wooden drums, mingled 
with shrill yells that split the night-air like so many 
war-missiles. Only those above, upon the platform, 
could mind these things; for the bustle within the 
enclosure below continued unabated until long after 
midnight. 

The report of our mission spread rapidly, and the 
pledge of protection given by the chiefs greatly heart- 
228 


THE LAST NIGHT AT DEARBORN 


ened the men, so that they worked now with many 
a peal of laughter and careless jest. The women and 
children, ever quick to feel the influence of the soldiers, 
responded at once to this new feeling of confidence, 
which was encouraged by the officers, however they 
may have secretly doubted the good-faith of; the sav- 
ages. So the children tumbled about in the red glare 
of the flames, the soldiers swung their traps into the 
waiting wagons with good-natured badinage, their 
brawny breasts bare and glistening with sweat in the 
hot night ; while, as the hour grew late and discipline 
sensibly relaxed, the women danced in the open and 
sang songs of home. 

It was hard enough to realize what it all meant, — 
what hardship and suffering and death lay just before 
these rejoicing people ; what depths of cruel treachery 
and murder lurked for them so few hours away. We 
did not suspect it then ; not even those among us who 
had long learned the deceit of Indian nature could 
unroll the shadowing veil of that morrow and reveal 
the forthcoming tragedy of those silent plains. I re- 
member that, doubtful as I felt about the future, I 
could look on with interest at the busy scene, and that 
more than once a smile lay upon my lips. What an 
odd variety of figures that congested place disclosed! 
what strange life-histories were having their culmina- 
tion there! I saw Ensign Ronan, young, slender, 
smooth of face, appearing scarce more than a boy, his 
229 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


short fatigue-jacket buttoned to the throat in spite of 
the heat, hurrying here and there in his enthusiasm, 
ever upon'his lips some happy phrase to take the sting 
from his word of command. Lieutenant Helm, calm 
but observant of every detail, moved in and out among 
the busy throng, every now and then stealing aside 
to speak a word of encouragement to his young wife, 
who stood watching by the mess-room door. There 
was quite a bevy gathered there, officers’ wives for the 
most part, gazing in mingled interest and apprehension 
upon the scene. I marked among them Josette, who 
had come in that evening with the Kinzies; and as I 
drew yet nearer the group, a sudden blazing up of the 
fire yielded me a glimpse of Mademoiselle, and I turned 
hastily away, unwilling still to greet or be greeted by 
her. 

Gaunt frontiersmen stalked about, having little to 
save and nothing to do, with the inevitable long rifle 
held in the hollow of the arm; Captain Wells’s Miamis 
skulked uneasily in dark corners, or hung over the 
embers to cook some ration yet unused, their dark 
skins and long coarse hair a reminder to us of the hos- 
tiles who watched without. Captain Heald, in com- 
pany with Captain Wells and John Kinzie, the latter 
conspicuous by his white beard, stood long in deep 
converse near the barracks, leaning against the black 
logs. I felt the two latter were urging some change 
of plan; but in the end Wells left in vexation, almost 
230 


THE LAST NIGHT AT DEARBORN 


in anger, striding across the parade-ground to the 
northern block-house. 

In the shadow of the south stockade, some one 
was softly playing upon a violin, the sweet notes steal- 
ing up through the wild hubbub in strains of silvery 
sound. Close upon one side of the fire, forgetful of 
the heat in their deep interest, two young soldiers were 
engrossed in a game of cards, while a group of com- 
rades commented freely on the fortunes of the play. 
Scarcely a yard distant, a grizzled old sergeant, — a 
veteran of the great war, no doubt, — bent above a 
book held open upon his knee, the shape of which be- 
spoke a Bible ; while on the other side a bevy of chil- 
dren were romping with their dogs or playing with 
sharp knives in the hard ground. A woman over by 
the gate lifted a sweet contralto voice in an old-time 
love-song, and had hardly lilted the opening line before 
others joined her, making the night resound to the 
tender melody. I saw the soldiers pause in their work 
to beat time, and marked the dark forms of the sentries 
above on the palisades as they leaned over to listen, 
every heart set throbbing with the memory of days 
gone by. 

“ Man is indeed a strange animal,” said a voice 
beside me, and I turned to greet Ensign Ronan. “ He 
can sing, laugh, and jest, in death’s very teeth.” 

“’Tis better, surely, than to cry,” I commented. 
“ But these do not so much as dream of death ; the 
231 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


pledge of the Pottawattomies has brought renewed 
hope.” 

“Yes, I know; though I confess I have little 
faith in it. And there will be plenty of danger about 
us before we see Fort Wayne, even if they pass us in 
safety around the lake. There will be leagues of travel 
through hostile territory. That,” he added, “ is, to my 
mind, the only sensible way of preparation for the 
morrow.” 

He pointed to the old sergeant seated beside the 
fire with his Bible; and I glanced into his boyish face 
with no little surprise. 

“ Some remark Surgeon Van Voorhis made caused 
me to deem you indifferent in such matters.” 

“No doubt,” he said, dryly. “ If one does not 
subscribe to the creeds, he is written down a heretic. 
I have laughed at folly, and so have won the reputa- 
tion of being an unbeliever. Yet, Way land, if we ride 
forth to a savage death to-morrow, no one will meet it 
with more faith in Christ than I. The years indeed 
have not left me spotless, but I have never wavered 
from the great truths my mother taught me. I know 
not the future, lad, but I believe there is ever mercy 
for the penitent.” 

In an instant my own thought spanned the leagues 
of forest to my distant home ; and I choked back a sob 
within my throat. 

“ It is our mothers’ love that makes us all better 
232 


THE LAST NIGHT AT DEARBORN 


men,” I said gravely. “ And whatever may befall us 
upon the morrow, that God of whom they taught us 
will be true.” 

“ The words are spoken in the right spirit,” he re- 
turned, soberly, “ and have the soldier ring I like best 
to hear. If it chance that we both come forth from 
this venture in life, I should be most glad to know 
you better.” 

I was deeply touched by his open, manly spirit, 
and especially impressed with his frank adherence to 
the Christian faith, — something too uncommon in 
that day along the border. 

’T is rather my wish to begin friendship before 
that time of trial,” I said eagerly, and with extended 
hand. “We shall fight the better for it when the hour 
for fighting comes ; and if it be God’s will to guide us 
safely through the wilderness, a friendship thus ce- 
mented in peril will have the strength of comradeship.” 

The young man’s strong and thoughtful face 
lighted up; but his |yes were resting upon the form 
of the sentry above us, and he did not speak. 

“ Ronan,” I questioned, somewhat doubtfully, “ I 
have long wished to ask you the cause of the friction 
that apparently exists between Captain Heald and the 
officers of this garrison; but have felt it none of my 
business. I cannot but realize you are not in his good 
graces, although he appears to me to be a brave and 
capable man.” 


233 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


‘‘He is both,” was the instant and manly reply; 
“ for all that, he has constantly turned for counsel in 
military matters to others than his own officers, — 
why, I know not, unless he considered us unworthy of 
his confidence. Instead of confiding his orders to us, 
and asking judgment upon his plans, he has been 
swayed from the beginning by Indian advice; and it 
is only natural for us to resent such unjust and dis- 
courteous treatment. Moreover, each move thus far 
made has proved to be a mistake, and we must suffer 
from them in silence and without remedy.” 

“ He does indeed seem strangely headstrong,” I 
admitted reluctantly, recalling to mind the words 
uttered in the room beyond my bed ; “ but surely his 
conference with the chiefs has resulted well, and is 
proof of his good judgment.” 

The young officer turned quickly and faced me, 
his eyes full of emotion. “ That remains to be de- 
cided,” he exclaimed. “ Such old frontiersmen as 
Captain Wells and John Kinzie say that pledge only 
hides black treachery. They urged him most earnestly, 
for an hour to-night, to reconsider his decision, and 
give up the immediate evacuation of the post. But he 
fully believes he can put faith in those lying, murder- 
ous hounds out yonder. So certain is Kinzie of 
trouble, that he has sworn to march forth with us, 
sending his family away by boat, in hope that his 
influence may hold back the savages from open attack; 

234 


THE LAST NIGHT AT DEARBORN 


while Wells declares that he will ride forth with black- 
ened face, as becomes a Miami who goes to certain 
death in battle. These men are no fools, no strangers 
to savage warfare and Indian deceit, — yet in spite of 
their warning. Captain Heald persists in driving us 
forth into the very fangs of the wolves. Brave! ay, 
he is indeed brave to the point of rashness; but this 
bids fair to be a fatal bravery to all of us who must 
obey his orders.” 

The intense bitterness of these words shocked me 
and held me dumb, — the more so, as I could not be 
insensible to their truth. As I lifted my eyes, I beheld, 
crossing the parade through the mass of equipment 
scattered here and there, De Croix and Mademoiselle. 
With a half-muttered excuse, I drew hastily back into 
the protecting shadow of the stockade; and as they 
slowly passed, I heard him jesting lightly, and saw her 
laughing, with a side-glance up at his face. 

With these words of warning from Ronan’s lips 
yet ringing in my ears, such reckless thoughtlessness 
of the danger encircling us astounded me ; and I drew 
farther back, less willing than ever to make one of 
them. Deep in my heart, I knew this was no time for 
careless laughter or happy jest. 


235 


CHAPTER XXIII 

THE DEATH-SHADOW OF THE MIAMIS 



ST was after midnight when 
I finally ceased my labors, 
feeling I had performed my 
fair share of the hard work 
of preparation. By this 
time everything was com- 
paratively quiet within the 
stockade enclosure ; the wag- 
ons were piled with all that 
could be loaded before morning, and many of the wea- 
ried soldiers had flung themselves upon the ground to 
snatch what rest they might before the early call to 
march. The women and children had disappeared, 
to seek such comfort as was possible amid the ruins 
of their former quarters; and only the sentries re- 
mained alert, pacing their solemn rounds on the nar- 
row walk overlooking the palisades and the silent plain 
without. 

Physically wearied as I was, my mind remained 
intensely active, and I felt no desire for sleep. I do not 
236 


THE DEATH-SHADOW OF THE MIAMIS 


recall that I gave much thought to the perils of our 
situation. One grows careless and indifferent to dan- 
ger, — and in truth I looked forward to no serious 
trouble with the Indians upon the morrow's march 
through the sand-dunes ; not that I greatly trusted to 
those reluctant pledges wrung from the chiefs, but 
because I felt that if properly handled in that open 
country our force was of sufficient fighting strength 
to repel any ordinary attack from ill-armed savages, 
my long border experience rendering me a bit disdain- 
ful of Indian courage and resourcefulness. So it was 
that my restless mind dwelt rather upon other matters 
more directly personal. I could not put away the 
thought of the half-seen girl flitting about amid the 
dusk of the Pottawattomie camp, especially as Captain 
Heald had declared her to be Elsa Matherson. I was 
surprised to discover that she I sought, instead of 
being a mere child, was a woman grown; for in this 
we were all deceived by the words of her father. 
What did she there, passing with such apparent free- 
dom from restraint among those fierce warriors? and 
how was I ever to reach her with any hope of rescue, 
even if she desired it? There was evidently a mystery 
here which I could never solve through idle musing; 
and yet I could but ask myself where lay my graver 
duty, — beside this single woman, who seemingly 
needed no defender, or with the many helpless ones 
who must march forth on the morrow on that long and 

237 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


dangerous passage through the wilderness? Indeed, 
what hope could I cherish of aiding the young girl, 
if I now deserted these others, and endeavored alone 
to penetrate that Indian camp in search of her? 

Then came another thought. It was of Made- 
moiselle. 

It was this that effectually halted me. To whom- 
soever else she might have given her heart, she was 
still the one for whom I was most glad either to live 
or die; and in spite of De Croix, I would ride at 
her side on the morrow, within striking distance 
of any prowling hostile. Let the Matherson girl 
wait; my arm belonged first of all to the defence of 
Mademoiselle. 

Busied with these thoughts, and endeavoring to 
adjust this decision with my conscience, I passed out 
upon the platform, that I might look forth once more 
upon the moonlit waters of the lake. There were a 
few dim figures to be seen, leaning over the logs ; but 
I supposed them to be members of the night-guard, 
and, feeling no desire for companionship, I halted in 
a lonely spot at the northeastern corner of the stock- 
ade. How desolate, how solemnly impressive, was the 
scene ! To the north all was black in the dense night, 
the shadows of the scattering trees obscuring the faint 
glow of the moon and yielding little of detail to the 
searching eye. Even the single ray of light which the 
evening previous had blazed forth as a friendly beacon 
238 


THE DEATH-SHADOW OF THE MIAMIS 


from the Kinzie home, was now absent. I could 
vaguely distinguish the dim outlines of the deserted 
house in the distance, and noticed a large boat moored 
close to the bank beneath the Fort stockade, — doubt- 
less the one in which the fugitives expected to venture 
out upon the lake on the morrow. 

It was the wide stretch of water, gleaming like 
silver, that fascinated me, as it always did in its num- 
berless changing moods. What unutterable loneliness 
spoke to the soul in those unknown leagues of tossing 
sea! how far the eye wandered unchecked, searching 
vainly for aught to rest upon other than glistening 
surge or darkling hollow! The mystery of the ages 
lay unexpressed in those tossing billows, sweeping 
in out of the black east, making low moan to the un- 
sympathetic and unheeding sky. Deeper and deeper 
the spirit of unrest, of doubt, of brooding discontent, 
weighed down upon me as I gazed ; life seemed as aim- 
less as that constant turmoil yonder, a mere silver- 
tinted heaving, destined to burst in useless power on 
a shore of rock, and then roll back again into the 
mighty deep. 

I leaned over the palisades, sunk deep in revery 
of home, recalling one by one the strange incidents of 
the last month that had so curiously conspired to cause 
a total upheaval of my life; and for the moment I 
grew oblivious of my surroundings. A mere lad, 
knowing little of himself and less of life, had ridden 

239 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


westward from the Maumee; a man, in thought and 
character, leaned now over that beleaguered stockade 
of Dearborn. 

I was recalled to actualities by a light touch on 
the sleeve of my shirt, and a half-laughing, half-petu- 
lant voice at my elbow. 

‘‘ Well, Master Laggard! do I not show you great 
honor in thus seeking you out, after your avoidance 
of me all these hours? ” 

I glanced aside into the fair face and questioning 
eyes, noting at the sam.e time that De Croix stood only 
a step beyond her in the shadows. 

“ I have been very busy. Mademoiselle,” I tried 
to explain ; “ it has been a time when every strong 
hand was needed.” 

Fudge!” was the indignant rejoinder. “Did I 
not perceive you loitering more than once to-night, — 
though each time I drew near, hopeful of a word of 
greeting, it was to behold you disappear as if by 
magic? Do I flatter you by thus showing my interest? 
Yet ’twas only that I might have explanation, that 
I sought you thus. Come, confess that you feared my 
just resentment for going forth on so perilous a trip 
without telling me of your plans.” 

“ 'T was not altogether that,” I answered, for dis- 
sembling was never an easy task for me, “ as I only did 
what I believed would most please you. Nor have I 
anything to regret in my action, now that we have 
240 


THE DEATH-SHADOW OF THE MIAMIS 


thus gained the pledge of the Pottawattomies for pro- 
tection upon the march.” 

She watched me closely as I spoke, and I won- 
dered if she realized ever so dimly the impulse of lov- 
ing service that had inspired my deed. Whether ’t was 
so or not, her whole mood quickly changed. 

“ I must admit you are a constant puzzle to me, 
John Wayland, — yet rather an interesting one withal. 
For instance, here is Josette, who did assure me but 
an hour ago that your very name was unknown to 
her, although, if memory serves, you asserted only 
yesterday that you were seeking her from the 
Maumee country. Perhaps, sir, you can explain the 
contradiction? ” 

“ It was not altogether as you have stated it. 
Mademoiselle,” I stammered, confused by the direct- 
ness of her attack. “ I said nothing of knowing this 
Josette, and you have deceived yourself in the matter. 
I came here seeking a young girl, ’t is true, but found 
no trace of her until a few hours ago, most curiously, 
in the heart of that Indian camp yonder.” 

“ You found her there? How strange! ” 

“ Most strange indeed. Mademoiselle, especially 
as she appeared to enjoy perfect liberty among the 
savages.” 

‘‘ You spoke with her? ” 

‘‘Not a word; it was only a glimpse I caught of 
her in the firelight, and when I sought to go to her 
i6 241 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


the warriors interfered and forced me back. But Cap- 
tain Heald, who saw her at the same time, assured me 
’twas the one I sought.” 

“ ’T is small wonder, then, you could stand here 
at my very side so long, and yet see me not, or remain 
indifferent to my presence,” she said, drawing slightly 
back. Come, Captain de Croix, let us walk to the 
other comer of the stockade, and leave Master Way- 
land to dream of his mysterious beauty undisturbed.” 

“ You misapprehend me,” I cried, awakened by 
her words, but more by De Croix’s smile. “ She has 
no such hold upon my memory as that, for until to- 
night I had supposed her a mere child. I knew not 
you were upon the platform, believing the forms I saw 
in the gloom to be those of the night-guard. What 
dark figure is that, even now leaning over the logs 
yonder? ” 

It was De Croix’s deeper voice that made answer. 

“’Tis Captain Wells; and we found him in no 
mood for conversation. Seemingly he hath small faith 
in the pledges of the chiefs.” 

‘‘ My own hope rests far more upon our skill at 
arms, Monsieur,” I answered directly ; for I have 
known Indian treachery all my life. They may keep 
faith with us to-morrow, for John Kinzie has great 
influence with them for good; nevertheless, I shall 
oil my gun carefully before riding forth.” 

It was in his eyes to make reply; but before 
242 


THE DEATH-SHADOW OF THE MIAMIS 


it could come the girl between us uttered a cry so 
piercing that it set us gazing where her finger pointed 
out across the lake. 

“ Look there, Messieurs ! Did ever mortal be- 
hold so grewsome a sight before? What means the 
portent? 

It is before me. now, in each grim, uncanny detail, 
— though I know well that my pen will fail to give 
it fit description, or convey even feebly a sense of the 
overwhelming dread of what we saw. Nature has 
power to paint what human hand may never hope to 
copy ; and though, as I now know well, it was no more 
than a strange commingling of cloud and moon in 
atmospheric illusion, still the effect was awe-inspiring 
to a degree difficult of realization within the environ- 
ments of peace and safety. To us, it appeared as a 
dreadful warning, — a mysterious manifestation of 
supernatural power, chilling our blood with terror and 
striking agony into our souls. Up from the far east 
had rolled an immense black cloud, rifted here and 
there by bars of vivid yellow as electric bolts tore it 
asunder. Moonlight tipped its heavy edges with a pale 
spectral gleam; and as it swiftly rose higher and 
higher into the sky, blotting out the stars, it seemed 
to dominate the entire expanse, hovering over us men- 
acingly, and assuming the shape of some gigantic 
monster, with leering face and cruel mouth, bending 
forward as if to smite us with huge uplifted hand. 

243 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


Perchance our tensioned nerves may have exaggerated 
the resemblance, but nothing more horribly real have 
my eyes ever beheld. 

For a moment I cowered, like a nerveless craven, 
behind the logs, gazing up at that awful apparition, 
that mocking devil’s-face, as a man fronts death in 
some terrible and unexpected form. It seemed as if 
the breath of the creature must be pestilence, and that 
it would smite us gasping to earth, or draw us help- 
lessly struggling within its merciless clutch. A prayer 
trembled on my lips, but remained unuttered, for I 
could only stare upward at the mighty, crawling thing 
now overshadowing us, my arms uplifted in impotent 
effort to avert the crushing blow. 

I could hear the girl sob where she had sunk upon 
the platform, and caught one glimpse of De Croix, 
his face yellow in the weird glare as he stared in 
speechless terror out over the water, his hands clutch- 
ing the palisades. It was Captain Wells, who had 
been standing near us, who first found voice. 

“ ’T is the Death-Shadow of the Miamis ! ” he 
cried, in choked accents, striding toward us along the 
narrow plank, and pointing eastward. “ I knew it 
must come, for our doom is sealed.” 

What centuries of Indian superstition rested be- 
hind the fateful utterance, I know not; but facing 
that horrible spectre as we did, his words held me in 
speechless awe. In the blood of us all such terrors 
244 


THE DEATH-SHADOW OF THE MIAMIS 


linger to unman the bravest ; and for the moment such 
fright and panic swept me as I have never known 
before or since. I, who have laughed at death even 
in the hour of torture, sank in deadly agony before 
that mystery of light and shadow, as if it indeed fore- 
shadowed the wrath of the Great Spirit. 

The sobs of Mademoiselle recalled me somewhat 
to myself, and led me to forget my own terror that 
I might help to relieve hers. 

** I beg you, fear not,” I urged, though my voice 
trembled and my lips were dry. “ Come, Mademoi- 
selle,” and I found her hand and clasped it, feeling the 
touch a positive relief to my unstrung nerves, “ look 
up and see! the cloud is even now breaking asunder, 
and has already lost much of its form of terror. Mind 
not the words of Captain Wells; he has been raised 
among the Indians, and drunk in their superstitions. 
De Croix, arouse yourself, and help me to bring 
courage to this girl.” 

He drew back from his grip on the palisades, as 
if, by sheer power of will, he forced his fascinated eyes 
from the cloud-bank, shivering like a man with an 
ague fit. 

^'Sacrel did ever human eyes behold so foul a 
thing I ” he cried, his voice shaking, his hand shading 
his face. ‘‘ -T will haunt me till the hour I die.” 

“ Bah ! ’T will all be forgotten with return of 
daylight,” I was quick to reply; for had found relief 

245 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


in action, and could perceive already that the clouds 
were becoming shapeless and drifting rapidly south- 
ward in a great billowy mass. “ Do not stand there 
moping like a day-blind owl, but aid me to make Ma- 
demoiselle see the foolishness of her fears.” 

The sting of these words moved him more than 
a blow would have done; but as he knelt beside her, 
I noted there was little of the old reckless ring in his 
voice. 

‘‘ *T is indeed true, Toinette, — ’t was but a cloud, 
and has already greatly changed in aspect. ’T will be 
no more than cause for laughter when the sun gilds 
the plain, and will form a rare tale to tell to the gal- 
lants at Montreal. Yet, Saint Guise! ’t was grewsome 
enough, and my knees quake still from the terror of 
the thing.” 

Mademoiselle was as brave and cool-headed a girl 
as ever I knew; but so thoroughly had she been un- 
nerved by this dreadful happening, that it was only 
after the most persistent urging on our part that she 
consented to be led below. There, at the foot of the 
ladder, I stepped aside to permit De Croix to walk with 
her across the parade; but she would not go without 
a word of parting. 

“ Do not think me weak and silly,” she implored, 
her face, still white from the terror, upturned to me 
in the moonlight. It was so spectral and ghastly 
that I gave way to sudden fear.” 

246 


THE DEATH-SHADOW OF THE MIAMIS 


‘‘ You need no excuse,” I hastened to assure her. 
“ When the thing frightened De Croix and me, and 
even set so old a soldier as Captain Wells to raving, 
it was no wonder it unnerved a girl, however brave 
she might prove in the presence of real danger. But 
you can sleep now, convinced it was naught but a 
floating cloud.” 

She smiled at me over her shoulder, and I watched 
the pair with jealous eyes until they disappeared. I 
noticed Captain Wells standing beside me. 

“ You thought I raved up yonder,” he said gravely; 
“to-morrow will prove that my interpretation of the 
vision was correct.” 

“ You believe it a prophecy of evil? ” 

“ It was the warning of the Great Spirit — the 
Death-Shadow of the Miamis. Never has it appeared 
to men of our tribe except on the eve of great disaster, 
the forerunner of grave tragedy. We ride forth from 
these gates to death.” 

It was plain that no amount of reasoning could 
change his Indian superstition ; and with a word more 
of expostulation I left him standing there, and sought 
a place where I might lie down. Already the numbing 
sensation of supernatural fear had left me, for in the 
breaking up of that odd-formed cloud I realized its 
cause; and now the physical fatigue I felt overmas- 
tered all else. I found a quiet corner, and, with a 
saddle for a pillow, was soon fast asleep. 

247 


CHAPTER XXIV 


THE DAY OF DOOM 



IFTEENTH August t8t2. — 
My hand trembles and my 
pen halts as I write the 
words; for the memory of 
those tragic hours, far dis- 
tant as they are now, over- 
masters me, and I see once 
J MnM faces of the dead, 

the mutilated forms, the dis- 
figured features of the hapless victims of savage 
treachery. Were I writing romance merely, I might 
hide much of detail behind the veil of silence ; but I am 
penning history, and, black as the record is, I can only 
give it with strict adherence to truth. I dread the 
effort to recall once more the sad incidents of that 
scene of carnage, lest I fail to picture it aright; but 
I can tell, and that poorly, only of what I saw within 
the narrowed vista of my personal experience, where 
the fate of the day found me. Out of the vortex of 
so fierce and sudden a struggle, the individual, battling 
248 



THE DAY OF DOOM 


madly for his own life, catches but hasty and confused 
glimpses of what others may do about him or in other 
portions of the field; and there has been much re- 
corded in what men call the history of that day’s battle, 
about which I know nothing. Nor shall I attempt to 
tell much more than the simple story of what befell 
me and those who faced the danger close at my side. 

In spite of the early bustle around me, incident 
to the preparations for departure, I slept late, stupefied 
by intense fatigue. The sun was already high, paint- 
ing with gold the interior of the western wall of the 
stockade, when some unusual disturbance aroused me, 
so that I sat up and looked about, scarce realizing for 
the moment where I was. The parade was alive with 
moving figures; and I instantly marked the cheery 
look on the faces of those nearest me, as if the entire 
garrison rejoiced that the hour for departure had at 
last arrived. The northern half of the little open space 
was filled with loaded wagons of every description, 
to which horses, mules, and even oxen, were being 
rapidly hitched ; while women and children were 
clambering in over the wheels, perching themselves 
upon the heaps of camp accoutrements, and rolling up 
the canvas coverings in order that they might the 
better see out and feel the soft refreshment of the 
morning air. 

The officers of the post were moving here and 
there among the throng of workers, grave of face, yet 

249 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


making no effort to curb the unusual gaiety of the en- 
listed men. For the time, all reins of discipline seemed 
relaxed. The few settlers and plainsmen who had 
gathered within the Fort for protection looked on 
stolidly, either lying in the shade of the log wall or 
lounging beside their horses already equipped for the 
trail ; while the Miamis were gathered restlessly about 
their breakfast fires, their faces unexpressive of emo- 
tion, as usual, although many among them had black- 
ened their cheeks in expectation of disaster. 

Evidently the hour fixed upon for our final deser- 
tion of Fort Dearborn was close at hand ; and I hast- 
ened to seek opportunity for a bath and breakfast. I 
do not recall now, looking back after all these years 
upon the events of that day, any dreading of the future, 
or serious thought of the coming ordeal. The bustle 
of excitement about me, the high spirits of the men, 
were like a tonic; and I remembered only that we 
were east-bound once more, and my chief concern was 
to be ready to ride out promptly with the column. 

It could not have been far from nine o’clock when 
every preparation was completed, and the echoing 
bugle called the laggards from their quarters into the 
open parade. The officers, already mounted, rode 
about quietly, assigning each driver and wagon to po- 
sition in the marching column, and carefully mustering 
the troops. The many sick of the garrison were 
brought forth from the barracks in their blankets, and 
250 


THE DAY OF DOOM 


gently lifted to places beside the women and children 
in the loaded wagons ; while the men fit for active duty 
fell in promptly along the southern wall, the right of 
their slender column resting opposite the barred en* 
trance. I was assigned to ride with the rear-guard 
beside the wagons, in company with the few settlers 
and fifteen of the Miamis under com.mand of Sergeant 
Jordan. Captains Heald and Wells, the latter with 
face blackened so that at first glance I scarcely recog- 
nized him, took position at the head of the waiting 
column in front of the closed gates, and they sat there 
on their horses, facing us, and watching anxiously our 
rather slow formation. 

John Kinzie joined them, his features grave and 
careworn, a long rifle in his hands; while the ladies 
of the garrison, plainly dressed for the long and hard 
journey, came forth from their several quarters and 
were assisted to mount the horses reserved for them. 
De Croix accompanied Mademoiselle, attired as for a 
gay pleasure-ride in the park, and gave her his gloved 
hand to step from into the saddle, with all the gallantry 
he might have shown a queen. I knew this was no 
boy’s play before us now; and, crushing back my 
natural diffidence, I spurred my horse boldly forward 
until we ranged up beside her, even venturing to un- 
cover in polite salute. 

Never did I see her look fairer than beneath the 
shade of the wide-brimmed hat she had donned to keep 

251 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


the hot sun from her clear cheeks ; nor was there the 
slightest vestige of last night’s terror lurking in the 
laughing eyes that flashed me greeting. 

I surely know of one sad heart amid this gay 
company,” she exclaimed, “ for while we rejoice at 
being once more bound for civilization. Master Way- 
land looks most truly mournful ; doubtless his thought 
is with her who has turned Indian for a time.” 

Her careless bantering tone nettled me ; but I was 
quick enough to answer, having no wish to awaken 
her fears as to the safety of our journey. 

“ ’T is true. Mademoiselle. I dislike greatly to 
leave in peril one I have journeyed so far to seek ; nor 
can I banish from my mind the thought that perhaps 
I am failing in my duty toward her. Yet surely you 
have small cause for complaint, as I have, instead, 
deliberately chosen to ride here at your side, in order 
that I may be near to defend you should occasion arise, 
— provided always that my presence shall meet your 
wishes and approval.” 

She bowed as best she could in her high-peaked 
saddle, shooting a mischievous glance from me to 
the unconcerned and self-satisfied face of the French- 
man. 

“ I am indeed most gratified and happy. Mon- 
sieur, thus to feel myself the object of such devotion ; 
but I greatly fear you will prove but a poor companion 
on the journey if you wear so glum a look. Captain 
252 


THE DAY OF DOOM 


de Croix is full of wit and good-humor this morning, 
and has already cheered me greatly with reminiscences 
of happier days.” 

“ Indeed? ” I said, looking at the fellow curiously. 
“ He has quickly forgotten the baleful portent of last 
night. I thought the daylight would yield him new 
heart.” 

“ And why not? ’T was but a cloud, as all of us 
know now, — though I confess it terrified me greatly 
at the time. You yourself seem not even yet to have 
wholly shaken off its terror.” 

“ ’T is not the supernatural that so troubles me,” 
I rejoined. “ As you may perceive yonder. Captain 
Wells rides forth with blackened face to what he 
deems to be certain death. I acknowledge. Mademoi- 
selle, that I look forward to a serious clash of arms 
before we are rid of the redskins, in spite of their 
pledges; and shall therefore keep close beside you, 
hopeful that my arm may show you better service than 
my tongue before nightfall.” 

Her eyes had grown grave as she listened; for 
I spoke with soberness, and there crept into them a 
look that thrilled me. Before either could speak again. 
Ensign Ronan rode up beside me. 

“Wayland,” he questioned anxiously, “what is 
this I hear about a strange portent in the eastern sky 
last night? Saw you anything terrifying there?” 

“ ’T was no more serious than a cloud which 

253 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


chanced to assume the form of a monster, and its 
aspect was most terrifying until we understood the 
nature of its formation. Then it became merely an 
odd memory to weave a tale about. Mademoiselle 
here saw it, and remains in most excellent spirits 
nevertheless.” 

He lifted his hat to her, and stared hard at De 
Croix, who barely nodded to his greeting. 

“ By Heavens ! ” he exclaimed, as if much relieved, 
“ it seemed to me as if Nature had conspired with those 
red demons yonder to sap our courage, when first I 
heard the rumor. I am so convinced that there is 
trouble afoot, that my nerves are all a-tingle at such 
mystery.” 

‘‘Are the savages gathering without?” 

“ Ay ! they are in mass of hundreds, awaiting us 
at the foot of the mound, and have been since day- 
break. See! the sentries are being called down, and 
the men are at the gate levers. I must be back at my 
post.” 

He held out his hand, and I clasped it warmly, 
feeling my heart go out instantly to the brave, impet- 
uous lad. 

“You ride this day with the rear-guard,” he said, 
lingering as if loath to go, “ and my duty lies with the 
van. ■ We may not chance to meet again, but the God 
we spoke about together last night will strengthen our 
hearts to meet their duty. It matters not where men 

254 


THE DAY OF DOOM 


die, but how. Good-bye, Mademoiselle! Captain de 
Croix, I wish you a most pleasant journey.” 

With doffed hat, he struck spurs into his nettle- 
some horse, and was gone; while the ringing notes of 
the bugle called the waiting column to attention. 

I watched with deepening interest all that was 
taking place before me. The heavy log-gates were 
unbarred, swung slowly inward, and left unguarded. 
Captain Heald uttered a single stern word of com- 
mand, and Captain Wells, with a squad of his Miamis 
pressing hard at his horse’s heels, rode slowly through 
the opening out into the flood of sunshine. Captain 
Heald and Mr. Kinzie, side by side, with Mrs. Heald 
mounted upon a spirited bay horse a yard in their rear, 
followed close; and then to Lieutenant Helm’s grave 
order the sturdy column of infantrymen, heavily 
equipped and marching in colixmn of fours, swept in 
solemn curve about the post of the gate, and filed out 
through the narrow entrance. The regular tramp- 
tramp, the evident discipline, and the confident look 
of the men, impressed me. While I was watching 
them, the small garrison band began suddenly to play, 
and the smiling soldier faces clouded as they glanced 
around in questioning surprise. 

‘‘ Saint Guise ! ” ejaculated De Croix, uneasily ; 
“ it is the Dead March ! ” 

I marked the sudden look of terrified astonishment 
in Mademoiselle’s eyes, and dropped my hand upon 

255 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


hers where it rested against the saddle-pommel. En- 
sign Ronan spurred swiftly back down the column, 
with an angry face, and hushed the ill sound by a 
sharp order. 

“ Another tune, you fool, or none at all ! ” he said, 
peremptorily. ** The foul fiend himself must have 
assumed charge of our march to-day.” 

As the column marched away, the groaning 
wagons one by one fell into line behind it, until at last 
our own turn came, and De Croix and I, each with 
a hand upon the bridle-rein of Mademoiselle’s spirited 
horse, rode between the gate-posts out to where we 
had full view of that stirring scene below. 

It was a fair, bright morning, with hardly so much 
as a fleecy white cloud in all the expanse of sky ; glo- 
rious sunlight was flashing its prismatic colors over 
a lake surface barely ruffled by the faintest breeze. 
Never did Nature smile more brightly back into my 
eyes than then, as I gazed out over the broad plain 
where the glow of the summer reflected back in shim- 
mering waves from the tawny prairie and glittering 
sand. With all its desolation, it was a picture to be 
treasured long; nor has a single detail of it ever left 
my memory. 

How vast the distances appeared through that 
clear, sun-illumined atmosphere, and how pronounced 
and distinctive were the varied colors spread to the 
full vista of the eye, contrasts of shine and shadow 
256 


THE DAY OF DOOM 


no human brush, however daring, would venture 
to depict on canvas. A primitive land this, ideal- 
ized by distance, vast in its wide, sweeping plains, 
its boundless sea, its leagues of glistening sand, 
and, bending over all, the deepest, darkest arch 
of blue that ever mirrored so fair a picture of the 
wilderness. 

Scattered groups of cottonwood trees, the irregu- 
lar mounds and ridges of sand, the silvery ribbon of 
river, merely emphasized the whole, and gave new 
meaning to what might else have been but sheer desert 
waste. I knew little then of what other years had 
seen within these solitudes and within the circle of my 
view ; yet scraps of border legend came floating back 
into memory, until I recalled the name of many an old- 
time adventurer, — La Salle, Joliet, Marquette the 
Jesuit, — who must have camped beside that very 
stream out yonder. 

The column had halted as our last laggards cleared 
the gate ; and for a moment we rested in silence upon 
the side of the slope, while the long line was being 
re-arranged for travel. The Indians, in seemingly dis- 
organized masses, were already enveloping the head 
of the column with noisy clamor, and Wells was hav- 
ing difficulty in holding his Miami scouts to their 
proper position. A few scattered and skulking sav- 
ages, — chiefly squaws, I thought at the time, — were 
stealthily edging their way up the slope of the slight 
17 257 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


rise, eager to begin the spoliation of the Fort as soon 
as we had deserted it. 

Wild and turbulent as was the scene, I perceived 
no alarming symptoms of hostility, and turned toward 
Mademoiselle with lighter heart. Her dark eyes were 
full of suppressed merriment as they encountered mine. 

“ I thought you would sit there and dream all 
day,” she said pleasantly ; “ and I hardly have the 
heart to blame you. ’T is indeed a fair scene, and one 
I almost regret leaving, now that the time to do so has 
come. Never before has its rare beauty so strongly 
appealed to me.” 

“ ’T is the great distance outspread yonder which 
renders all so soft to the eye,” I answered, glad to 
reflect her mood ; yet Captain de Croix and I know 
well ’t is far less pleasant travelling over than to look 
at here. We think of the swamps, the forests, the 
leagues of sand and the swift rivers which will hinder 
our progress.” 

“I hardly imagine,” she murmured softly, “ that 
Captain de Croix is guilty of wasting precious time in 
reflection upon aught so trivial this morning. He has 
been conversing with me upon the proper cut of his 
waistcoat, and I am sure he is too deeply engrossed 
in that subject to give heed to other things.” 

I glanced at him and smiled as my heart glowed 
to her gentle sarcasm, for surely never did a more 
incongruous figure take saddle on a western trail. By 
258 


THE DAY OF DOOM 


what code of fashion he may have dressed, I know 
not ; but from his slender-pointed bronze shoes to his 
beribboned hat he was still the dandy of the boule- 
vards, his dark mustaches ciurled upward till their tips 
nearly touched his ears, and a delicately carved riding- 
whip swinging idly at his wrist. He seemed to have 
already exhausted his powers of conversation, for he 
remained oblivious of our presence, fumbling with one 
yellow-gloved hand in the recesses of a saddle-bag. 

By Saint Denis, Sam ! ” he exclaimed, angrily, 
to his black satellite, ‘‘ I can find nothing of the 
powder-puff, or the bag of essence! ParBteuI if they 
have been left behind you will go back after them, 
though every Indian in this Illinois country stand 
between. Come, you imp of darkness, know you aught 
of these? ” 

‘‘ Dey am wid de pack-hoss, Massa de Croix,” w'as 
the oily answer. “ I done s’posed you would n’t need 
’em till we got than” 

“ Need them ! Little you know the requirements 
of a gentleman! Saint Guise! Why, I shall want 
them both this very day ! Ride you forward there, and 
see if they cannot be picked out from among the other 
things.” 

“ See, Monsieur ! ” cried Mademoiselle suddenly, 
one hand pressing my arm, while she pointed eagerly 
with the other, “there goes the boat with Mistress 
Kinzie and her children ! That must be Josette in the 

259 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


bow, with the gay streamer about her hat. She did 
wish so to ride with us, but Mr. Kinzie would not 
permit it.” 

The boat had but just cleared the river mouth, 
and was working off-shore, with half a dozen Indians 
laboring at the oars. 

“ Yet Josette has by far the easiest passage, as we 
shall learn before night,” said I, watching their prog- 
ress curiously. “ I imagine you will soon be wishing 
you were with them.” 

“Never, Master Wayland!” she cried, with a 
little shudder, and quick uplifting of hands to her face 
as if to shut out the sight. “ Memory of the hours 
when I was last on the lake is still too vivid. I have 
grown to dread the water as if it were an evil spirit. 
See! the column resumes its march, and the savages 
are moving beside us as might a guard of honor.” 

It was as she had said. The long, hard journey 
had begun; and slowly, like some great snake torpid 
with a winter’s sleep, the crawling column drew for- 
ward. We at the rear rode down the incline and out 
upon the level plain, every step an unconscious ad- 
vance toward battle and death. 


260 


CHAPTER XXV 


IN THE JAWS OF THE TIGER 

E chatted carelessly about 
many things, as we rode 
slowly onward, our un- 
guided horses following 
those in advance along the 
well-marked trail close be- 
side the water along the 
sandy beach. Mademoiselle 
was full of life and bubbling 
over with good-humor ; while De Croix, having found 
the essentials of his toilet safe, grew witty and light 
of speech, even interesting me now and then in the idle 
words that floated to my ears, — for he managed to 
monopolize the attention of the young girl so thor- 
oughly that after a little time I sat silent in my saddle, 
scarce adding a word to their gay tilt, my eyes and 
thought upon the changing scene ahead. 

I know not why, as I reflect calmly upon the 
incidents of that morning, I should have grown so 
confident that the savages meant us fair ; yet this feel- 
261 



WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


ing steadily took possession of me, and I even began to 
regret that I had not stayed behind in quest of her 
for whom I had come so far. Surely it was hopeless 
for me to dangle longer beside Mademoiselle, for De 
Croix knew so well the little ins and outs of social 
intercourse that I was like a child for his play. More- 
over, it was clear enough that the girl liked him, or 
he would never presume so to monopolize her atten- 
tion. That she saw through much of his vain pretence, 
was indeed probable; her words had conveyed this 
to me. Nevertheless, it was plain she found him enter- 
taining; he was like a glittering jewel in that rough 
wilderness, and I was too dull of brain and narrow of 
experience to hope for success against him in a strug- 
gle for the favor of a girl so fair and gay as this 
Toinette. 

I thought the matter all out as I rode on through 
the sunlight, my eyes upon the painted savages who 
trooped along upon our right in such stolid silence 
and seeming indifference, my ears open to the light 
badinage and idle compliments of my two companions. 
Yes, it would be better so. When the Indians left the 
column at the head of the lake, I would invent some 
excuse that might allow me to accompany them on 
their return, and I would remain in the neighborhood 
of the Fort until Elsa Matherson had been found. 

Just in front of us, a large army wain struggled 
along through the yielding sand, drawn by a yoke of 
262 


IN THE JAWS OF THE TIGER 

lumbering oxen. The heavy canvas cover had been 
pushed high up in front, and I could see a number of 
women and children seated upon the bedding piled 
within, and looking with curious interest at the stream 
of Indians plodding moodily beside the wheels. Some 
of the little tots' faces captivated me with their ex- 
pression of wide-eyed wonder, and I rode forward to 
speak with them; for love of children is always in 
my heart. 

As I turned my horse to draw back beside Made- 
moiselle, my eyes rested upon the stockade of the old 
Fort, now some little distance in our rear; and to my 
surprise it already swarmed with savages. Not less 
than five hundred Indians, — warriors, all of them, and 
well armed, — tramped as guards beside our long and 
scattered column, yet hundreds of others were even 
now overrunning the mound and pouring in at the 
Fort gates, eager for plunder. I could hear their 
shouting, their fierce yells of exultation, while the 
grim and silent fellows who accompanied us never so 
much as glanced around, although I caught here and 
there the glint of a cruel, crafty eye. The sight made 
me wonder; and I swung my long rifle out from the 
straps at my back down across the pommel of my 
saddle, more ready to my hand. 

The trail we had been following now swerved 
nearer the lake, deflected somewhat by a long high 
ridge of beaten sand, separating the shore from the 
263 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


prairie. Here the two advancing lines of white and 
red diverged, the Indians moving around to the west- 
ern side of the sand-ridge, while Captain Wells and his 
Miami scouts continued their march along the beach. 
There was nothing about this movement to awaken 
suspicion of treachery, for the beach at this point had 
narrowed too much for so great a number moving 
abreast, and it was therefore only natural that our 
allies should seek a wider space for their marching, 
knowing they could easily reunite with us a mile or 
so below, where the beach broadened again. Their 
passing thus from our sight was a positive relief ; and 
so quiet did everything become, except for groaning 
wheels and the heavy tread of horses, that Made- 
moiselle glanced up in surprise. 

“Why, what has become of the Indians?” she 
questioned. “ Have they already left us? ” 

I pointed to the intervening sand-ridge. 

“ They move parallel with us, but prefer to walk 
upon the prairie grass rather than these beach pebbles. 
For my part, I would willingly dispense with their 
guard altogether; for in my judgment we are of 
sufficient strength to defend ourselves.” 

“ Ay, strong enough against savages,” interposed 
De Croix, his eyes upon the straggling line ahead; 
“ yet if by any chance treachery was intended, surely 
I never saw military formation less adapted for re- 
pelling sudden attack. Mark how those fellows march 
264 


IN THE JAWS OF THE TIGER 

out yonder ! — all in a bunch, and with not so much 
as a corporars guard to protect the wagons ! ” 

I was no soldier then, and knew little of military 
formation; but his criticism seemed just, and I ven- 
tured not upon answering it. Indeed, at that very 
moment some confusion far in front, where Captain 
Wells led his scouts, attracted my attention. We 
must have been a mile and a half from the Fort by 
this time, and I recalled to memory the little group 
of trees standing beside the trail where we had halted 
on our journey westward to enjoy our earliest glimpse 
of Dearborn. At first I could make out little of what 
was taking place ahead; then suddenly I saw the 
squad of Miamis break hastily, like a cloud swept by 
a whirling wind, and the next instant could clearly 
distinguish Captain Wells riding swiftly back toward 
the column of infantry, his head bare, and one arm 
gesticulating wildly. In a moment the whole line 
came to a startled and wondering pause. 

“What is it?” questioned Mademoiselle anx- 
iously, shading her eyes. “ Have the Indians at- 
tacked us? ” 

“ God knows ! ” I exclaimed, clinching my rifle 
firmly. “ But it must be, — look there ! ” 

Wheeling rapidly into line, as if at command, 
although we could hear no sound of the order, the 
soldiers poured one quick volley into the sand-ridge 
on their right, and then, with a cheer which floated 
265 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


faintly back to us, made a wild rush for the summit. 
This was all I saw of the struggle in front, — for, 
with a cry of dismay, the Miamis composing the rear- 
guard broke from their posts beside the wagons and 
came running back past us in a panic of wild terror. 
I saw Sergeant Jordan throw himself across their line 
of flight, striking fiercely with his gun, and cursing 
them for a pack of cowardly hounds; but he was 
thrown helplessly aside in their blind rush for safety. 

“ Way land ! De Croix ! ’’ he shouted, staggering 
to his knees, “ help me stop these curs, if you would 
save our lives ! ” 

It was a fool thing, yet in the excitement I did 
it, and De Croix was beside me. Two or three of the 
settlers on foot rallied with us, and together we struck 
so hard against those cowering renegades that for the 
moment we held them, though their fear gave them 
desperation difficult to withstand. I recall noticing 
De Croix, as he pressed his rearing horse into the 
huddled mass, lashing at the faces of the fellows merci- 
lessly with his riding-whip, as if thinking Mademoi- 
selle would admire his reckless gallantry. 

A wild yell, with the mad thrill of the war-whoop 
in it, suddenly assailed our ears; the Miamis broke 
to the left like a flock of frightened birds, and my 
startled glance revealed a horde of naked Indians, 
howling like maniacs, and with madly brandished 
weapons, pouring over the sand-ridge not thirty feet 
266 


IN THE JAWS OF THE TIGER 

away from us. With a shout o£ warning, which was 
half a curse at my own mad folly, I drove the spurs 
deep into my horse’s side in a vain endeavor to fling 
myself between them and the girl. Hardly had the 
startled animal made one quick plunge, when we were 
locked in that human avalanche as if gripped by a vise 
of steel. A dozen dark hands grasped my bridle or 
clutched at me, their swarthy faces fierce with blood- 
lust, the eyes that fronted me cruel with passion and 
inflamed by hate. I heard shots not far away ; but we 
v/ere all too closely jammed to do more than fight in a 
desperate hand-to-hand struggle with club and knife. 

The saddle is a poor place from which to swing 
a rifle, yet I stood high in my wooden stirrups and 
struck madly at ^very Indian head I saw, battering 
their faces till from the very horror of it they gave 
slowly back. I won a yard — two yards — three, — 
my horse biting viciously at their naked flesh, and 
lashing out with both fore-feet like a fiend, while I 
swept my gun-stock in a widening circle of death. 
For the moment, I dreamed we might drive them back ; 
but then those devils blocked me, clinging to my 
horse’s legs in their death agony, and laughing back 
into my face as I struck them down. 

Once I heard De Croix swearing in French beside 
me, and glanced around through the mad turmoil 
to see him cutting and hacking with broken blade, 
pushing into the midst of the melee as if, he had real 
267 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


joy in the encounter. While I thus had him in view, 
a knife whistled through the air, there was a quick 
dazzle in the sunlight, and he reeled backward off his 
horse and disappeared in the ruck below. 

Never in a life of fighting have I battled as I 
did then, feeling that I alone might hope to reach her 
side and beat back these foul fiends till help should 
come to us. The stock of my rifle shattered like glass ; 
but I swung the iron barrel with what seemed to me 
the strength of twenty men, striking, thrusting, stab- 
bing, my feeth set, my eyes blurring with a mist of 
blood, caring for nothing except to hit and kill. I 
know not now whether I advanced at all in that last 
effort, though my horse trod on dead bodies. Only 
once in those awful seconds did I gain a glimpse of 
Mademoiselle through the mist of struggle, the maze 
of uplifted arms and striking steel. She had reined 
her horse back against a wheel of the halted wagon, 
and with white face and burning eyes was lashing 
desperately with the loaded butt of her riding-whip 
at the red hands which sought to drag her from the 
saddle. 

The sight maddened me, and again my spurs were 
driven into my horse’s flanks. As he plunged forward, 
some one from behind struck me a crushing blow 
across the back of the head, and I reeled from my 
saddle, a red mist over my eyes, and went hurling face 
downward upon the mass of reeling, tangled bodies. 

268 



“ She had reined her horse back against a wheel of the 

halted wagon.” 






CHAPTER XXVI 


THE FIELD OF THE DEAD 

HE fierce plunging of my 
horse in his death agony, 
and his final pitching for- 
ward across my prostrate 
body, were doubtless all 
that saved my life. Yield- 
ing to their mad desire for 
plunder, the savages scat- 
tered when I fell, and left 
I do not think I quite lost 
consciousness in those first moments, although every- 
thing became blurred to my sight, and I was im- 
prisoned by the weight above me so that the slightest 
effort to move proved painful; indeed, I breathed only 
with the greatest difficulty. 

But I both heard and saw, and my mind was 
intensely occupied with the rush of thought, the horror 
of all that was going on about me. How I wish I 
might blot it out, — forget forever the hellish deeds 
of those dancing devils who made mock of human 
agony and laughed at tears and prayers ! It was plain, 
269 



/ 




WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


as the wild cries of rejoicing rose on every side, that 
the Indians had swept the field. The distant sound 
of firing ceased, and I could hear the pitiful cries of 
women, the frightened shrieks of children, the shrill 
note of intense agony wrung from tortured lips. Close 
beside me lay a dead warrior, his hideously painted 
face, with its wide, glaring, dead eyes, so fronting me 
that I had left only a narrow space through which 
to peer. Within that small opening I saw murder done 
until I closed my eyes in shuddering horror, crazed 
by my own sense of helplessness, and feeling tlie 
awful fate that must already have befallen her I loved. 

God knows I had then no faintest wish to live; 
nor did I dream that I should see the sun go down 
that day. Death was upon every side of me, in its 
most dreadful forms; and every cry that reached my 
ears, every sight that met my eyes, only added to the 
frightful reality of my own helplessness. The inert 
weight of the horse stifled me so that I drew my 
short breath almost in sobs; nor did I dare venture 
upon the slightest attempt at release, hemmed about 
as I was by merciless fiends now hideously drunk with 
slaughter. Once I heard a man plead for mercy, 
shrieking the words forth as if his intensity of agony 
had robbed him of all manliness; I saw a young 
woman fall headlong, the haft of a tomahawk cleaving 
open her head, as a brawny red arm gripped her by 
the throat; a child, with long yellow hair, and face 
270 


THE FIELD OF THE DEAD 


distorted by terror, ran past my narrow outlook, a 
naked savage grasping after her scarcely a foot be- 
hind. I heard her wild scream of despair and his 
shout of triumph as he struck her down. Then I lost 
consciousness, overwhelmed by the multiplying hor- 
rors of that field of blood. 

It is hard to tell how long I lay there, or by what 
miracle of God’s great mercy I had escaped death and 
mutilation. It was still day, the sun was high in the 
heaven, and the heat almost intolerable, beating down 
upon the dry and glittering sand. I could distinguish 
no sound near at hand, not even a moan of any kind. 
The human forms about me were stiffening in death ; 
nor did any skulking Indian figures appear in sight. 

From away to the northward I could hear the 
echo of distant yelling; and as I lay there, every 
faculty alert, I became more and more convinced that 
the savages who had attacked us had withdrawn, and 
that I alone of all that fated company was preserved, 
through some strange dispensation of Providence, for 
what might prove a more terrible fate than any on 
that stricken field. With this thought there was sud- 
denly born within me a fresh desire for life, a mad 
thirsting after revenge on those red demons whose 
merciless work I had been compelled to see. Yet if 
I hoped to preserve my life, I must have water and 
air ; a single hour longer in my present situation could 
only result in death. Fortunately, such relief, now that 
271 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


I felt free to exert myself and seek it, was not so 
difficult as it had seemed. The heavy horse rested 
upon other bodies as well as my own, so that, little by 
little, I succeeded in dragging myself out from beneath 
his weight, until I was finally able to lift my head and 
glance cautiously about me. 

I pause now as I sit writing, my face buried in my 
hands, at the memory of that dreadful field of death. 
I cannot picture it, nor have^I wish to try. I took 
one swift glimpse at the riven skulls, the mangled 
limbs, the mutilated bodies, the upturned pleading 
faces white and ghastly in the sunlight, the women 
and children huddled in heaps of slain, the seemingly 
endless line of disfigured, half-stripped bodies stretch- 
ing far down the white beach; then I fell upon my 
face in the sand, sobbing like a baby. O God, how 
could such deeds be done? How could creatures 
shaped like men prove themselves such fiends, such 
hideous devils of malignity? It sickened me with 
horror, and I shrank from those dead bodies as if 
each had been a grim and threatening ghost. 

Necessity presently overcame the dread possessing 
me; and slowly, seeking to see no more than I must 
of the awful scenes about me, I struggled to my knees, 
and peered around cautiously for signs of skulking 
Indians. Not a living creature was near enough to 
observe me. To the northward the savages were 
swarming about the Fort, and it was evident that they 
272 


THE FIELD OF THE DEAD 

had left everything to search for plunder. My un- 
covered head throbbed under the hot sun, and my hair 
was thick with clotted blood; scarce a hundred feet 
away was the blue lake, and on my hands and knees 
I crawled across the beach to it, forgetful of every- 
thing else in my desire to roll in the cool sweet water. 

I realized that it would be far safer for me to 
remain there until darkness shrouded my movements ; 
but I felt so revived by the touch of the water that the 
old desire for action overcame considerations of per- 
sonal safety. Before night came I must somehow gain 
possession of a rifle, with powder and ball ; and I must 
discover, if possible, the fate of Mademoiselle. I can- 
not describe how, like a frightened child, I shrank 
from going again amid those mutilated corpses. I 
started twice, only to crawl back into the water, nerve- 
less and shaking like the leaf of a cottonwood. I knew 
it must be done, and that the sooner I attempted it 
the safer would be the trial; so at last, with set teeth 
and almost superhuman effort, I crept up the beach 
among the silent, disfigured dead once more. 

With little trouble I found the wagon against 
which I had seen Mademoiselle draw back her horse 
in that last desperate defence. It was overturned, 
scorched with flame, its contents widely scattered; 
while about it lay the bodies of men, women, and 
children. A single hasty glance at most of these was 
sufficient ; but a few were so huddled and hidden that 

i8 273 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


I was compelled to move them before I thoroughly 
convinced myself that Mademoiselle was not there. I 
finally found her horse, several rods away, lying against 
the sand-ridge ; but she whose body I sought with such 
fond persistency was not among those mangled forms. 

Faint and sick from the awful scene, with head 
throbbing painfully, I sank down upon a slope of sand 
where I was able to command a clear view in either 
direction, and thought rapidly. I was alone with the 
dead. Of all those lying silent before me, none would 
stir again. Not a savage roamed the stricken field, — 
though doubtless they would again swarm down upon 
it as soon as the sacking of the Fort had been com- 
pleted. I must plan, and plan quickly, if I would 
preserve my own life and be of service to others. And 
life was worth preserving now, for there was a possi- 
bility, — faint, to be sure, yet a possibility, — that 
Toinette still lived. How the mere hope thrilled and 
animated me! how like a trumpet-sound it called to 
action! She had told me once of friendships between 
her and these blood-stained warriors ; of weeks passed 
in Indian camps on the great plains, both with her 
father and alone; of being called the White Queen 
in the lodges of Sacs, Wyandots, and Pottawattomies. 
Perchance some such friendship may have intervened 
to save her, even in that fierce me/ee, that carnival of 
lust and murder. Some chief, with sufficient power to 
dare the deed, may have snatched her from out the 
274 


THE FIELD OF THE DEAD 

jaws of death, actuated by motives of mercy, — or, 
more likely still, have saved her from the stroke of the 
tomahawk for a far more terrible fate. 

This was the thought that brought me again to 
my feet with burning face and tightly clinched teeth. 
If she lived, a helpless prisoner in those black lodges 
yonder, there was work to be done, — stern, desperate 
work, that would require all my courage and resource- 
fulness. Firm in manly resolve, and rendered reckless 
now of contact with the dead, I crept back among the 
bodies in eager search for gun and ammunition. For 
a long time I sought vainly ; the field had been stripped 
by many a vandal hand. At last, however, I turned 
over a painted giant of a savage whose head had been 
crushed with a blow, and beneath him discovered a 
long rifle with powder-horn half filled. As I drew it 
forth, uttering a cry of delight at my precious find, 
my eyes fell upon a pair of bronze boots, with long 
narrow toes, protruding from beneath a tangled mass 
of the slain. It was no doubt the tomb of De Croix; 
and without so much as a thought that he could be 
alive, I drew the bodies off him and dragged his form 
forth into the sunlight. 

Merciful Heaven ! his heart still beat, — so faintly, 
indeed, that I could barely note it with my ear 
at his chest. But life was surely there, and with 
a hasty glance about to assure me that I was unob- 
served, I ran to the lake shore. I returned with hat 

275 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


full of water, with which I thoroughly drenched him, 
rubbing his numbed hands fiercely, and thumping his 
chest until at last the closed eyes partially opened, and 
he looked up into my anxious face, gasping painfully 
for breath. His lips moved as I lifted his head in my 
arms ; and I bent lower, not certain but he was dying 
and had some last message he would whisper in my ear. 

“Wayland,” he faltered feebly, “is this you? 
Lord, how my head aches ! Send Sam to me with the 
hand-mirror and the perfumed soap.” 

“ Hush ! ” I answered, almost angry at his flippant 
utterance. “ Sam is no doubt dead, and you and I 
alone are spared of all the company. Do you suffer 
greatly? Think you it would be possible to walk? ” 

“ I have much pain here in the side,” he said 
slowly, “ and am yet weak from loss of blood. All 
dead, you say? Is Toinette dead? ” 

“ I know not, but I have not found her body 
among the others, and believe her to be a prisoner 
to the savages. But, come, De Croix,” I urged, anx- 
iously, “we run great risk loitering here; there is 
but one safe spot for us until after dark, — yonder, 
crouched in the waters of the lake. The Indians may 
return at any moment to complete their foul work; 
and for us to be found alive means torture, — most 
likely the stake, — and will remove the last hope for 
Mademoiselle. Think you it can be made if you lean 
hard on me? ” 


276 


THE FIELD OF THE DEAD 


''Sacre I ’t will not be because I do not try, Master 
Wayland,” he answered, his voice stronger now that 
he could breathe more freely, and with much of his 
old audacity returned. “ Help me to make the start, 
friend, for every joint in my body seems rusty.” 

His face was white and drawn from agony, and 
he pressed one hand upon his side, while perspiration 
stood in beads upon his forehead. But no moan came 
from his set lips; and when he rested a moment on 
his knees, looking about him upon the dead, a look 
of grim approval swept into his eyes. 

“ Saint Guise, Wayland,” he said soberly, “ ’t was 
a master fight, and the savages had it not all their 
own way ! ” 

It made me sick to hear such boasting amidst the 
horror that yet overwhelmed me, and I drew the fel- 
low up to his feet with but little tenderness. 

“ God knows ’t is sad enough ! ” I answered, 
shortly. “ Come, there are parties of Indians already 
straying this way from the Fort yonder, and it be- 
hooves us to get in hiding.” 

He made the distance between us and the water 
with far less difficulty than I had expected, and with 
a better use of his limbs at each step. In spite of 
vigorous protest on his part, I forced him out from the 
shore until the water entirely covered us, save only 
our faces ; and there we waited for the merciful coming 
of the night. 


277 


CHAPTER XXVII 


A GHOSTLY VISION 

HE touch of the water 
brought renewed life to De 
Croix. This was shown by 
the brighter color stealing 
into his cheeks, as well as 
by the more careless tone 
that crept into his voice. 
The lake proved shallow for 
some considerable distance 
off shore, and I compelled the Frenchman to wade with 
me southward, and as far out as we dared venture, 
until we must have reached the extreme limit of the 
field of massacre. Indeed, I fully believed we had 
passed beyond the point where the attack had first 
burst upon Captain Wells’s Miamis; for I could per- 
ceive no sign of any bodies lying opposite us against 
the white background of sand. As the night drew 
on, squads of savages wandered over the scene of 
slaughter, despoiling the stiffening corpses, and taking 
from the wagons whatever might suit their fancy. Yet 
278 




A GHOSTLY VISION 


we were now so far removed that we could distinguish 
little of their deeds, although the sound of their voices 
echoed plainly enough across the water to our ears. 

As time passed, the numbness that had paralyzed 
my brain, either from the cruel blow that felled me 
or the terrible shock my nerves had experienced, grad- 
ually passed away, and our situation became more 
vivid to my mind. I thought again of all who had gone 
forth that morning filled with hope and life. I had, 
it is true, known none of them long, but there were 
many in that ill-fated company who had already grown 
dear to me, and one was among them who I now 
knew beyond all question was to remain in my heart 
forever. 

I recalled the faces one by one, with some tender 
memory for each in turn. I thought of the brave 
Captain Wells, with his swarthy face, and Indian train- 
ing, who had proved himself so truly my friend for 
my father’s sake; of Captain Heald, the typical bluff 
soldier of the border, ready to sacrifice everything to 
what he deemed his duty ; of Lieutenant Helm, grave 
of face and calm of speech, always so thoughtful of 
his sweet girl bride; and of young Ronan, loyal of 
heart and impetuous of deed, whose frank manliness 
had so drawn me to him. And now all these brave, 
true comrades were dead ! Only five or six hours ago 
I had spoken with them, had ridden by their side ; now 
they lay motionless yonder, stricken down by the 
279 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


basest treachery, their poor bodies hacked and muti- 
lated almost beyond recognition. I could scarcely real- 
ize the awful truth ; it rested upon me like some horrible 
dream, from which I knew I must soon awaken. 

But it was Mademoiselle, — Toinette, with the 
laughing eyes and roguish face, which yet could be so 
tender, — whose memory held me vibrating between 
constant dread and hope. Living or dead, I must 
know the truth concerning her, before I felt the slight- 
est consideration for my own preservation. If I lived, 
it should be for her sake, not mine. Plan after plan 
came to me as I stood there, my face barely raised 
above the water level, praying for the westering sun to 
sink beneath the horizon. Yet all my plans were so 
vague, so visionary, so filled with difficulties and un- 
certainties, that at last I had nothing practical outlined 
beyond a firm determination in some way to reach 
the Indian camp and there learn what I could of its 
black secrets. I wondered whether this rash hare- 
brained Frenchman would aid or hinder such a pur- 
pose; and I glanced aside at him, curious to test the 
working of his mind in such a time of trial. 

** Saint Guise ! ” he exclaimed, marking my look, 
but misinterpreting it; “the sun has gone down at 
last, and there seems a chill in the air where it strikes 
my wet skin. It is in my thought to wade ashore. 
Master Wayland, and seek food for our journey, as 
I can perceive no savages near at hand.” 

280 


A GHOSTLY VISION 


“It will be safer if we wait here another half- 
hour,” I answered, almost inclined to smile at the 
queer figure he cut, with his long, wet hair hanging 
down his shoulders. Then I added, “ What journey 
do you contemplate? ” 

He gazed at me, his face full of undisguised 
amazement. 

“What journey? Why, Mon Dieu! to the east- 
ward, of course! Surely you have no wish to linger 
in this pleasant spot? ” 

“And is that the way of a French soldier? ” I 
asked, almost angrily. “ I thought you made the 
journey westward, Monsieur, for the sake of one you 
professed greatly to admire; and now you confess 
yourself willing to leave her here to the mercy of these 
red wolves. Is this the way of it? ” 

I spoke the words coolly, and they cut him to the 
quick. His face flushed and his eyes flashed with 
anger; yet I faced him quietly, though I doubt not 
I should have felt his hand upon me had we been 
better circumstanced for struggle. 

“ How know you she lives? ” he asked sullenly, 
eying the rifle I still held across my shoulder. 

“ I do not know. Monsieur, except that her body 
is not upon the field yonder; but I will know before 
I leave, or give my life in the search. And if you 
really loved her as you professed to do, you would 
dream of nothing less.” 

281 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“ Love her? he echoed, his gaze upon the sand, 
now partially obscured in the descending twilight. 
**SsLcrel I truly thought I did, for the girl certainly 
has beauty and wit, and wove a spell about me in 
Montreal. But she has become as a wild bird out 
here, and is a most perplexing vixen, laughing at my 
protestations, so that indeed I hardly know whether it 
would be worth the risk to stay.” 

Hateful and selfish as these words sounded, and 
much as I longed to strike the lips that uttered them 
so coolly, yet their utterance brought a comfort to my 
heart, and I stared at the fellow, biting my tongue to 
keep back the words of disgust I felt. 

“ So this is the measure of your French gallantry, 
Monsieur ! I am sincerely glad my race holds a differ- 
ent conception of the term. Then you will leave me 
here?” 

“Leave you? Sacre I how could I ever hope to 
find my way alone through the wilderness? ’T would 
be impossible. Yet why should we stay here? What 
can you and I hope to accomplish in so mad a search 
amid all these savages? You speak harsh words, — 
words that under other conditions I should make you 
answer for with the sword ; but what is the good of it 
all? You know I am no coward; I can fight if there 
be need; yet to my mind no help can reach Toinette 
through us, while to remain here longer is no less than 
suicide.” 


282 


A GHOSTLY VISION 


I saw he was in earnest, and I felt there was much 
truth in his words, however little they affected my own 
determination. 

“As you please. Monsieur,” I answered coldly, 
turning from him and slowly wading ashore. “ With 
me *t is not matter for argument. I seek Mademoiselle. 
You are at perfect liberty either to accompany me or 
to hunt for safety elsewhere, as you wish.” 

I never so much as glanced behind, as I went up 
the beach, now shrouded in the swift-descending night ; 
but I was aware that he kept but a step behind me. 
Once I heard him swear ; but there was no more speak- 
ing between us, until, in the darkness, I stumbled and 
partially fell over a dead body outstretched upon the 
sand. 

“ A Miami, judging from the fringe of his leg- 
gings,” I said briefly, from my knees. “ One of the 
advance guard, no doubt, brought down in flight. ’T is 
good luck, though, De Croix, for the fellow has re- 
tained his rifle. Perchance if you be well armed also, 
it may yield you fresh courage.” 

''Parhtea! ^tis not courage I lack,” he returned, 
with something of his old-time spirit, “but I hate 
greatly to yield up a chance for life on so mad an 
errand. More, Master Way land, had this firearm 
been in my hands when you flouted me in the water 
yonder, your words should not have been so easily 
passed over.” 


283 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


The stars gave me a dim view of him, and there 
was a look in his face that caused me to feel it would 
be best to have our trouble settled fully, and without 
delay. 

“ Monsieur,” I said sternly, laying my hand upon 
his shoulder, and compelling him to front me fairly, 
“ I for one am going into danger where I shall require 
every resource in order to preserve my life and be of 
service to others. I have already told you that I care 
not whether you accompany me or no. But this I say : 
we part here, or else you journey with me willingly, 
and with no more veiled threats or side looks of 
treachery.” 

“ I meant no harm.” 

‘‘ Then act the part of a man. Monsieur, and cease 
your grumbling. The very life of Mademoiselle may 
hang upon our venture; and if you ever interfere or 
obstruct my purpose, I will kill you as I would a dog. 
You understand that. Monsieur de Croix; now, will 
you go or stay? ” 

He looked about him into the lonely, deso- 
late shadows, and I could see him shrug his 
shovilders. 

“ I go with you, of course. Sacrel but I have 
small choice in the matter ; ’t would be certain death 
otherwise, for I know not east from west in this blind 
waste of sand.” 

I turned abruptly from him, and strode forward 
284 


A GHOSTLY VISION 


across the sand-ridge out into the short prairie grass 
beyond, shaping my course westward by the stars. 
However revengeful the Frenchman might feel at my 
plain speaking, I felt no hesitancy in trusting him to 
follow, as his life depended upon my guidance through 
the wilderness. 

My mind by this time was fairly settled upon our 
first movement. The only spot that gave promise of 
a safe survey of the Indian camp, where doubtless 
such prisoners as there were would be held, I felt sure 
would be found amid the shadows of the west bank 
of that southerly stream along which the lodges were 
set up. From that vantage point, if from any, I should 
be able to judge how best to proceed on the perilous 
mission of rescue. ^ 

While we were feeling our way forward through 
the darkness, a great burst of flame soared high into 
the northern sky, the red light radiating far abroad 
over the prairie, until even our creeping figures cast 
faint shadows on the level plain. 

“Saint Guise! They have set fire to the Fort!” 
exclaimed De Croix, halting and gazing anxiously 
northward. 

“ Ay, either to that or to the agency building,” 
I answered. “ It was not there I expected to find the 
prisoners, but rather hidden among those black lodges 
yonder whence all the shouting comes. ’T is torture, 
De Croix, which has so aroused those devils; and it 
285 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


will soon enough prove our turn to entertain them, if 
we linger long within this glare.” 

“You have a plan, then?” 

“ Only a partial one at present, — ’t is to put the 
safeguard of the river between us and those yelling 
fiends. Beyond that it will all be the guidance of 
God.” 

The stream proved to be a narrow one, and the 
current was not swift. We crossed it easily enough, 
without wetting our stock of powder, and found the 
western bank somewhat darkened by the numerous 
groups of small stunted trees that lined it. I moved 
with extreme caution now, for each step brought us 
in closer proximity to those infuriated tribesmen who 
were holding mad carnival in the midst of their lodges. 
I felt sure that our pathway along the western shore 
was clear, for the most astute chief among them would 
hardly look for the approach of enemies from that 
quarter; but I was enough of a frontiersman not to 
neglect any ordinary precautions, and so we crept like 
snakes along at the water’s edge, under the shadow 
of the bank, until much of the wild scene in the village 
opposite was revealed to our searching eyes. 

It was a mad saturnalia, half light, half shadow, 
amid which the fierce figures of the painted warriors 
passed and repassed in drunken frenzy, making night 
hideous with savage clamor and frenzied gesticula- 
tions. I would have crept on farther, seeking a place 
286 


A GHOSTLY VISION 


for crossing unobserved, had not De Croix suddenly 
grasped me by the leg. As I turned, the play of the 
flames from across the water struck upon his white 
face, and I could read thereon a terror that held him 
motionless. 

“ For Christ’s sake, let us go ! ” he urged, in an 
agonized whisper. ‘‘ See what those demons are about 
to do! I fear not battle, Wayland, as you know; but 
the scene yonder unmans me.” 

It is hard for me to describe now what then I saw. 
The entire centre of the great encampment was 
brightly lit by a huge blazing fire, around which hun- 
dreds of Indians were gathered, leaping and shouting 
in their frenzy, while above the noise of their discord- 
ant voices we could distinguish the flat notes of the 
wooden drum, the dull pounding of which reminded 
me of the solemn tolling of a funeral bell. What 
atrocities had been going on, I know not; but as we 
gazed across at them in shuddering horror, forth from 
the entrance of a lodge a dozen painted warriors drove 
a white man, stripped to the waist, his hands bound 
behind him. As he stumbled forward, a bevy of 
squaws lashed him with corded whips. I caught one 
glimpse of his face in the light of the flames; it was 
that of a young soldier I recalled having seen the even- 
ing before within the Fort, playing a violin. He was 
a brave lad, and although his face was pale and drawn 
by suffering, he fronted the crazed mob that buffeted 
287 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


him with no sign of fear, his eyes roving about as if 
still seeking some possible avenue of escape. Once he 
sprang suddenly aside, tripping a giant brave who 
grasped him, and disappeared amid the lodges, only 
to be dragged forth a moment later and pushed for- 
ward, horribly beaten with clubs at every step. 

On a sudden, that shrieking, undulating crowd 
fell away, and we could see the young man standing 
alone, bound to a stake, his body leaning forward as 
if held to its erect posture merely by the bonds. The 
limp drooping of his head made me think him already 
unconscious, possibly dead from some chance fatal 
blow ; but as the flames burst out in a roar at his feet, 
and shot up, red and glaring, to his waist, he gave 
utterance to one terrible cry of agony, and it seemed 
to me I gazed fairly into his tortured eyes and could 
read their pitiful appeal. Twice I raised my rifle, the 
sight upon his heart, — but durst not fire. No con- 
sideration of my own peril held back the pressure of 
the trigger, — 'twas the remembrance of Mademoi- 
selle. It was beyond my strength of will to withstand 
such strain long. 

“ Come,” I groaned to De Croix, my hands pressed 
tightly over my eyes to shut out the sight, it will 
craze us both to stay here longer, nor dare we aid the 
poor fellow even by a shot.” 

He lay face downward on the soft mud of the 
bank, and I had to shake him before he so much as 
288 


A GHOSTLY VISION 


moved. We crept on together, until we came out 
through the thick bushes into the open prairie, and 
faced each other, our lips white and our bodies shaking 
with the horror of what we had just seen. 

“ Mon Dieu ! ” he faltered, ** ’t will forever haunt 
me.” 

“ It has greatly undone me,” I answered, striving 
to control my voice, for I felt the necessity of coolness 
if I hoped to command him ; “ but if we would save 
her from meeting a like fate, we must remain men.” 

‘‘ Then, for God’s sake, find some spot where I 
may rest for an hour,” he urged. ** My brain seems 
reeling, and I fear it will give way if I remain in sight 
or sound of such horrors.” 

In spite of all I had seen, it was still my desire to 
creep in among the deserted lodges while darkness 
shrouded the outermost of them; but I felt that some 
safe hiding-place must first be found for my compan- 
ion. To attempt to take him with me while in such 
a nervous state would be only to invite disaster. 

“ De Croix,” I asked, “ know you if the Indians 
have destroyed the house that stood by the fork of the 
north river, where the settler Ouilmette lived? ” 

“I marked it through Lieutenant Helm’s field- 
glass yesterday. ’T is partially burned, yet the walls 
still stand.” 

“ Then ’t will serve us most excellently to hide in, 
for there will be naught left within likely to attract 

19 289 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


marauders. Think you that you could find it through 
the night? ” 

He looked at me, and it was easy to see his nerves 
were on edge. 

‘‘ Alone? he gasped brokenly. “ My God, no ! ” 

There was seemingly no way out of it, for it would 
have been little short of murder to leave him alone on 
that black prairie, nor would harsh words have greatly 
mended matters. We were fully an hour at it, creep- 
ing cautiously along behind the scattered bushes until 
we passed the forks and swam the river’s northerly 
branch. The action did him good, and greatly helped 
to steady my own nerves, as the uproar of the savages 
died steadily away behind us. 

At last we came out upon a slight knoll, and found 
ourselves close beside the low charred walls of what 
remained of Ouilmette’s log-cabin. ’Twas a most 
gloomy and desolate spot, but quiet enough, with 
never the rustle of a leaf to awake the night, or 
startle us. 

“ Have you got back your nerve. Monsieur? ” I 
asked, as we paused before the dark outline, ** or must 
I also help you to explore within? ” 

“ ’T is not shadows that terrify me,” he answered, 
no doubt thoroughly ashamed of his weakness, and 
eager to make amends ; “ nor is it likely that anything 
to affright me greatly is behind these walls.” 

I lay prone in the grass at the comer of the cabin, 
290 


A GHOSTLY VISION 


my eyes fixed upon the distant Indian village, where 
I could yet plainly distinguish numberless black fig- 
ures dodging about between me and the flames ; while 
further to the east, the greater blaze of the Fort build- 
ings lighted up, in a wide arc, the deserted prairie. I 
gave little consideration to De Croix^s exploit, — in- 
deed, I had almost forgotten it, when suddenly the 
fellow sprang backward out of the open door, a cry of 
wild terror upon his lips, and his hands outstretched 
as if to ward off some unearthly vision. 

“ Mon Dieu ! ” he sobbed hoarsely, falling upon 
his knees. “ ’T was the face of Marie ! ” 


t 


291 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


AN ANGEL IN THE WILDERNESS 



E acted so like a crazed man, 
grovelling face downward in 
the grass, that I had to hold 
him, fearful lest his noise 
might attract attention from 
our enemies. 

“Be quiet, De Croix!” I 
commanded sternly, my 
hand hard upon him, my 
eyes peering through the darkness to determine if 
possible the cause for his mysterious fright. “ What 
is it that has so driven you out of your senses? ” 

He half rose, staring back at the black shadow of 
the dim doorway, his face white as chalk in the star- 
light and faint glare of the distant fires. 

“ ’T was the face of a dead woman,” he gasped, 
pointing forward, “ there, just within the door I I saw 
her buried three years ago, I swear ; yet, God be mer- 
ciful! she awaited me yonder in the gloom.” 

“ Pish ! ” I exclaimed, thoroughly disgusted at his 
292 



AN ANGEL IN THE WILDERNESS 


weakness, and rising to my feet. “ Your nerves are 
unstrung by what we have been through, and you 
dream of the dead.*’ 

“ It is not so ! ” he protested, his voice faltering 
pitifully ; ‘‘ I saw her. Monsieur, — nor was she once 
this day in my thought until that moment.” 

** Well, I shall soon know if there is a ghost 
within,” I answered shortly, determined to make quick 
end of it. “ Remain here, while I go into the house 
and see what I can find.” 

For a moment he clung to me like a frightened 
child; but I shook off his hands a bit roughly, and 
stepped boldly across the threshold. That v/as an age 
when faith in ghostly visitations yet lingered to 
harass the souls of men. I confess my heart beat more 
rapidly than usual, as I paused an instant to peer 
through the shadowy gloom within. It was a small, 
low room, with a litter of broken furniture strewing 
the earthen floor; but the log walls were quite bare. 
The flicker of the still blazing Fort illuminated the 
interior sufficiently to enable me to make out these 
simple details, and to see that the place was without 
living occupant. 

There was only one other apartment in the build- 
ing, and I walked back until I came upon the door 
which separated the two, and flung it open. As I did 
so I thought I saw a shadow, the dim flitting of a 
woman’s form between me and the farther wall; but 

293 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


as I sprang hastily forward, grasping after the spectral 
vision, I touched nothing save the rough logs. Twice 
I made the circuit of that restricted space, so confident 
was I of my own eye-witness; but I found nothing, 
and could only pause perplexed, staring about in 
wonder. 

It occurred to me that my own overtaxed nerves 
were at fault, and that if I was to accomplish anything 
before daylight I must say nothing likely to alarm De 
Croix further. 

‘‘ Come, Monsieur ! ” I said, as I came out and 
shook him into attention, there is naught within more 
dangerous than shadows, or perchance a rat. Nor 
have I any time longer to dally over such boyishness. 
I had supposed you a soldier and a brave man, not a 
nerveless girl to be frightened in the dark. Come, 
there is ample hiding-space behind the walls, and I 
purpose leaving you here to regain some measure of 
your lost courage while I try a new venture of my 
own.” 

‘‘ Where go you? ” 

“To learn if I may gain entrance to the Indian 
camp unobserved. There can be no better time than 
while they are occupied yonder.” 

He looked uneasily about him into the dark cor- 
ners, shuddering. 

“ I would rather go with you,” he protested, 
weakly. “ I have not the heart to remain here alone.” 

294 


AN ANGEL IN THE WILDERNESS 


“ Nevertheless, here you stay,” I retorted shortly, 
thoroughly exasperated by his continued childishness ; 
“ you are in no spirit to meet the perils yonder. Con- 
quer your foolishness. Monsieur, for I know well 't is 
not part of your nature so to exhibit fear.” 

“ *T is naught alive that I so shrink from ; never 
have I been affrighted of living man.” 

‘‘True; nor have I ever found the dead able 
greatly to harm. But now I go forth to a plain duty, 
and you must wait me here.” 

I did not glance back at him, although I knew he 
had sunk dejected on a bench beside the door; but 
with careful look at the priming of my rifle, I stepped 
forth into the open, and started down the slight slope 
leading to the river. A fringe of low, straggling trees 
hid my movements from observation by possible 
watchers along the southern bank; nor could I per- 
ceive with any definiteness what was going on there. 
The fires had died down somewhat, and I thought the 
savage yelling and clamor were considerably lessened. 

I confess I went forward hesitatingly, and was 
doubtful enough about the outcome; but I saw no 
other means by which I might hope to locate Made- 
moiselle definitely, and I valued my own life now only 
as it concerned hers. The selfish cowardice of De 
Croix — if cowardice it truly was — served merely to 
stir me to greater recklessness and daring, and I felt 
ready to venture all if I might thereby only pluck her 

295 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


from the grasp of those red fiends. As I crept through 
the fringe of bushes which lined the bank, my eyes 
were on the darkened upper extremity of the Indian 
camp, and all my thoughts were concentrated upon a 
plan of entrance to it. I may have been somewhat 
careless, for I had no conception of any serious peril 
until after I had crossed the stream, and it certainly 
startled me to hear a voice at my very elbow, — a 
strange voice, beautifully soft and low. 

‘‘You have the movement of an Indian; yet I 
think you are white. What seek you here?” 

I turned quickly and faced the speaker, my rifle 
flung forward ready for action. The light was poor 
enough there amid the shadows, yet the single glimpse 
I had told me instantly I faced the mysterious woman 
of the Indian camp. For a moment I made no re- 
sponse, held speechless by surprise; and she ques- 
tioned again, almost imperatively. 

“ I asked, why are you here? ” 

“ I am one, by the grace of God, spared from the 
massacre,” I answered blindly. “But you? — I saw 
you within the Indian camp only last night. Surely 
you are not a savage? ” 

“ That I know not. I sometimes fear the savage 
is part of all our natures, and that I am far removed 
from the divine image of my Master. But I am not an 
Indian, if that is what you mean. If to be white is 
a grace in your sight, I am of that race, though there 
296 


AN ANGEL IN THE WILDERNESS 


are times when I would have been prouder to wear the 
darker skin. The red men kill, but they do not lie, nor 
deceive women. I remember you now, — you were 
with the White Chief from Dearborn, and tried to ap- 
proach me when Little Sauk interfered. Why did you 
do that? ” 

Her manner and words were puzzling, but I knew 
no better way than to answer frankly. 

“I sought Elsa Matherson, — are you she?” 

The girl — for she could certainly have been little 
more — started perceptibly at the name, and bent 
eagerly forward, peering with new interest into my 
face. 

‘‘Elsa Matherson?” she questioned, dwelling 
upon the words as though they awoke memories. “ It 
is indeed long since I have heard the name. Where 
knew you her? ” 

“ I have never known her ; but her father was 
my father’s friend, and I sought her because of that 
friendship.” 

“ Here? ” 

“ At Fort Dearborn, where she was left an 
orphan.” 

“ How strange ! how very strange indeed ! ’T is a 
small world. Elsa Matherson* — and at Dearborn?” 

Was it acting, for some purpose unknown to me, 
— or what might be the secret of these strange 
expressions? 


297 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 

“Then you are not the one I seek?** 

She hesitated, looking keenly toward me through 
the dim light. 

“I have not said who I may be,** she answered 
evasively. “ Whatever name I may once have borne 
was long ago forgotten, and to the simple children 
about me I am only Sister Celeste. *T is enough to 
live by in this wilderness, and the recording angel of 
God knows whether even that is worthy. But I have 
been waiting to learn why you are here, creeping 
through the bushes like a savage! Nor do I believe 
you to be altogether alone. Was there not one with 
you yonder at the house? Why did he cry out so 
loudly, and fall?** 

“He imagined he saw a ghost within. He claimed 
to have recognized the face of a dead woman he once 
knew.** 

“A dead woman? What is the man*s name? 
Who is he? ** 

“ Captain de Croix, an officer of the French army.** 

She sighed quickly, as if relieved, one hand pressed 
against her forehead, and sat thinking. 

“ I know not the name, but it seems strange that 
the chance sight of my face should work such havoc 
with his nerves. Spoke he not even the name of the 
woman? ** 

“ I think he cried some name as he fell, but I recall 
it not.** 


298 


AN ANGEL IN THE WILDERNESS 


“ And you? You are only seeking a way of escape 
from the savages? ** 

For a moment I hesitated; but surely, I thought, 
this strange young woman was of white blood, and 
seemingly an enthusiast in the religion I also pro- 
fessed, and I might safely trust her with my piurpose. 

‘‘ I am seeking entrance within the encampment, 
hoping thus to rescue a maiden whom I believe to be 
prisoner in the hands of the Indians.” 

‘‘ A maiden, — Elsa Matherson? ” 

“ Nay, another ; one I have learned to love so well 
that I now willingly risk even torture for her sake. 
You are a woman, and have a woman’s heart; you 
exercise some strange power among these savages. 
I beg you to aid me.” 

She sat with clasped hands, her eyes lowered upon 
the grass. 

“ Whatsoever power I have comes from God,” she 
said solemnly ; “ and there be times, such as now, 
when it seems as if He held me unworthy of His 
trust.” 

‘‘ But you will aid me in whatever way you can? ” 

“ You are sure you love this maiden? ” 

“Would I be here, think you, otherwise?” 

She did not answer immediately, but crept across 
the little space separating us until she could look more 
closely into my face, scanning it earnestly with her 
dark eyes. 


299 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 

“ Y ou have the appearance of a true man,” she 
said finally. “ Does the maid love you? ” 

“ I know not,” I stammered honestly, confused by 
so direct a question. “ I fear not ; yet I would save 
her even then.” 

I felt her hand touch mine as if in sudden 
sympathy. 

“ Monsieur,” she spoke gravely, “ love has never 
been kind to me, and I have learned to put small trust 
in the word as it finds easy utterance upon men’s lips. 
A man swore once, even at the altar, that he loved me ; 
and when he had won my heart he left me for another. 
If I believed you were such a man I would rather 
leave this girl to her fate among the savages yonder.” 

“ I am not of that school,” I protested earnestly. 
‘‘ I am of a race that love once and forever. But you, 
who are you? Why are you here in the midst of these 
savages? You bear a strange likeness to her I would 
save, but for the lighter shade of your hair.” 

She drew back slightly, removing her hand from 
mine, but with gentleness. 

“ It would do you little good to know my story,” 
she said firmly. ** I am no longer of the world, and my 
life is dedicated to a service you might deem sacrifice. 
Moreover, we waste time in such idle converse; and 
if it be my privilege to aid you at all, I must learn 
more, so as to plan safely.” 

** You have the freedom of the camp yonder? ” 

300 


AN ANGEL IN THE WILDERNESS 


‘‘ I hardly know,” she responded sadly. “ God 
has placed in my poor hands, Monsieur, a portion of 
His work amid those benighted, sin-stained creatures 
there. Times come, as now, when the wild wolf breaks 
loose, and my life hardly is safe among them. I fled 
the camp to-night, — not from fear, Christ knows, but 
because I am a woman, and too weak physically to 
bear the sight of suffering that I am helpless to 
relieve. It is indeed Christ's mercy that so few of 
your company were spared to be thus tortured; but 
there was naught left for me but prayer.” 

She stooped forward, her hands pressed over her 
eyes as though she would shut out the horror. 

“ Yet know you who among the whites have thus 
far preserved their lives? ” I urged, in an agony of sus- 
pense. “ Were any of the women brought alive to 
the camp? ” 

“ It was my fortune to see but one ; nor was I 
permitted to approach her, — a sweet-faced girl, yet 
she could not be the one you seek, for she wore a 
wedding-ring. She was saved through the friendship 
of Black Partridge, and I heard that she is a daughter 
of the Silver-man.” 

“ Ay ! Mrs. Helm ! Thank God ! But was she 
the only one?” 

“ Truly, I know not ; for I was forced away from 
sight of much that went on. Little Sauk has a white 
maiden hidden in his lodge, who was brought from the 
301 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


battle. I have not seen the girl, but know this through 
others who were angry at his good-fortune.” 

“ Could we reach there, think ypu, unobserved? ” 

She rose, and gazed anxiously across the stream, 
her face showing clear and fair in the faint light of 
those distant fires, while I caught the glimmer of a 
pearl rosary about her white throat and marked a 
silver crucifix resting against her breast. 

“ It will be life itself you venture in such an at- 
tempt,” she said softly, “ even its loss through torture ; 
yet ’t is a deed that might be done, for the Indians are 
fairly crazed with blood and liquor, and will pay small 
heed to aught save their heathen orgies.” 

“ Then let us venture it.” 

She turned slightly and looked at me intently, her 
dark eyes filled with serious thought. 

“Yes, we will go,” she responded at last, slowly. 
“ If through God’s grace we may thus preserve a life, 
it will be well worthy the sacrifice, and must be His 
desire.” 

For another moment we waited there silently, 
standing side by side, gazing anxiously across the dark 
water, and listening intently to the varied discordant 
sounds borne to us on the night air. I know not what 
may have been in her thought ; but upon my lips there 
was a silent prayer that we might be safely guided in 
our desperate mission. I wondered still who this 
strange young woman could be, so surrounded by 
302 


AN ANGEL IN THE WILDERNESS 

mystery, a companion of savages, and still gentle and 
refined in word and manner. I dare not ask again, nor 
urge her confidence ; for there was that of reserve about 
her which held me speechless. I glanced aside, marking 
again the clear pure contour of her face, and my look 
seemed instantly to arouse her from her reverie. 

“ I expect little trouble until we near the centre 
of the camp,*’ she said, thoughtfully. “ *T is dark amid 
the northern lodges, and we shall meet with no war- 
riors there unless they be so far gone in intoxication 
as to be no longer a source of danger. But come, 
friend, the longer we tarry the less bright grows the 
hope of success.” 

A slender bark canoe rested close beneath the 
bank, and she motioned me into it, grasping the paddle 
without a word, and sending the narrow craft with 
swift, silent strokes across the stream. The other shore 
was unprotected; so, hesitating only long enough to 
listen for a moment, much as some wild animal might, 
she crept forward cautiously into the black lodge- 
shadows, while I instantly followed, imitating as best 
I could her slightest movement. We met no obstacle 
to our advance, — not even the snarls and barkings of 
the innumerable curs, usually the sleepless guardians 
of such encampments of savages. I soon saw that as 
we crept around lodge after lodge in our progress, the 
light of the blazing fires in our front grew constantly 
brighter and the savage turbulence more pronounced. 

At last the girl came to a sudden pause, peering 

303 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


cautiously forward from beneath the shadow of the 
lodge that hid us ; and as I glanced over her shoulder, 
the wild scene was revealed in each detail of savagery. 

** ’T is as far as you will dare venture,” she whis- 
pered, her lips at my ear. “ I know not the exact limit 
of our progress, but the lodge of Little Sauk lies be- 
yond the fire, and I must make the rest of the distance 
alone.” 

^‘But dare you?” I questioned uneasily. “Will 
they permit even you to pass unharmed? ” 

She smiled almost sadly. 

“ I have many friends among them, blood-stained 
as they are, and little as I have accomplished for the 
salvation of their souls. I have been with them much, 
and my father long held their confidence ere he died. 
I have even been adopted into the tribe of the Potta- 
wattomies. None are my enemies among that nation 
save the medicine-men, and they will scarce venture to 
molest me even in this hour of their power and crime. 
Too well they know me to be under protection of their 
chiefs; nor are they insensible to the sanctity of my 
faith. Ay, and even their superstition has proved my 
safeguard.” 

The expression of curiosity in my eyes appealed 
to her, and as if in answer she rested one hand upon 
her uncovered head, the hair of which shone like dull 
red gold in the firelight. 

“ You mean that? ” I asked, dimly recalling some- 
thing I had once heard. 


304 


AN ANGEL IN THE WILDERNESS 


She shook the heavy coiled mass loose from its 
bondage, until it rippled in gleaming waves of color 
over her shoulders, and smiled back at me, yet not 
without traces of deep sadness in her eyes. 

“ ’T is an Indian thought,” she explained softly, 
“ that such hair as mine is a special gift of the Great 
Spirit, and renders its wearer sacred. What was often 
spoken most lightly about in other days has in this 
dread wilderness proved my strongest defence. God 
uses strange means. Monsieur, to accomplish His pur- 
pose with the heathen.” 

She paused, listening intently to a sudden noise 
behind us. 

“ Creep in here. Monsieur,” she whispered, quickly 
lifting an edge of the skin-covering of the lodge. “ A 
party is returning from the Fort, perchance with more 
prisoners. Lie quiet there until I return; it will not 
be long.” 

I crawled through the slight opening into that 
black interior, turning to hold open the flap sufficiently 
to peer forth once more. I knew not where she van- 
ished, as she faded away like a shadow; but I had 
hardly secured refuge, when a dozen painted warriors 
trooped by, shouting their fierce greeting. In the 
midst of them, half-stripped, and bleeding as if from 
freshly inflicted wounds, staggered a white man; and 
as the firelight fell full upon his haggard face, I recog- 
nized De Croix. 


20 


305 


CHAPTER XXIX 


A SOLDIER OF FRANCE 

HAT followed was so ex- 
traordinary and incredible 
that I hesitate to record it, 
lest there be those who, 
judging in their own conceit, 
and knowing little of savage 
Indian nature, may question 
the truth of my narration. 
Yet I am now too old a 
man to permit unjust criticism to swerve me from 
the task I have assumed. 

The extreme of misery that overwhelmed me at 
the moment when I beheld my comrade driven forward 
like a trapped beast to a death by torture, found ex- 
pression in a sudden moan, which, fortunately for me, 
was unnoted amid the shouts of greeting that arose 
around the fire when those gathered there caught sight 
of the new-comers. Instantly all was confusion and 
uproar ; a scene of savage debauchery, unrelieved by a 
redeeming feature or a sign of mercy. It was as if poor 
306 




A SOLDIER OF FRANCE 


De Croix had been hurled, bound and gagged, into a 
den of infuriated wolves, whose jaws already dripped 
with the blood of slaughter. Gleaming weapons, glar- 
ing and lustful eyes, writhing naked bodies, pressed 
upon him on every side, hurling him back and forth 
in brute play, every tongue mocking him, in every up- 
lifted hand a weapon for a blow. 

The fierce animal nature within these red fiends 
was now uppermost, fanned into hot flame by hours 
of diabolical torture of previous victims, in which they 
had exhausted every expedient of cruelty to add to the 
dying agony of their prey. To this, fiery liquor had 
yielded its portion; while the weird incantations of 
their priests had transformed the most sober among 
them into demons of malignity. If ever, earlier in the 
night, their chiefs had exercised any control over them, 
that time was long since past; and now the inflamed 
warriors, bursting all restraint, answered only to the 
war-drum or made murderous response to the super- 
stition of their medicine-men. 

The entire centre of the encampment was a scene 
of drunken orgy, a phantasmagoria of savage figures, 
Satanic in their relentless cruelty and black barbarity. 
Painted hundreds, bedecked with tinkling beads and 
waving feathers, howled and leaped in paroxysms of 
fury about the central fire, hacking at the helpless 
bodies of the dead victims of earlier atrocities, tearing 
their own flesh, beating each other with whips like 

307 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


wire, their madly brandished weapons flashing angrily 
in the flame-lit air. 

Squaws, dirty of person and foul of mouth, often 
more ferocious in appearance and cruel in action than 
their masters, were everywhere, dodging amid the 
writhing bodies, screaming shrilly from excitement, 
their long coarse hair whipping in the wind. Nor were 
they all Pottawattomies : others had flocked into this 
carnival of blood, — Wyandots and Sacs, even Miamis, 
until now it had become a contest for supremacy in 
savagery. ’T was as if hell itself had opened, to vomit 
forth upon the prairie that blood-stained crew of danc- 
ing demons and shock the night with crime. 

A dead white man, — the poor lad whose early 
torture we had witnessed, — his half-burnt body still 
hanging suspended at the stake, was in the midst of 
them, a red glare of embers beneath him, the curling 
smoke creeping upward into the black sky from about 
his head like devil’s incense. In front of this hideous 
spectacle, regardless of the mutilated body, sat the 
ferocious old demon I had seen the evening previous, 
his head crowned with a bison’s horns, his naked 
breast daubed with red and yellow figures to resemble 
crawling snakes, his face the hideous representation 
of a grinning skull. Above all other sounds rang out 
his yells, inciting his fellows to further atrocities, and 
accompanied by the dull booming of his wooden drum. 

It v/as into this pack of ravening beasts that poor 
308 


A SOLDIER OF FRANCE 


De Croix staggered from the surrounding shadows; 
and they surged about him, clamoring for place, greet- 
ing their new-found victim with jeers and blows and 
hoots of bitter hatred, viciously slashing at him with 
their knives, so that the very sight of it turned me 
sick, and made me sink my head upon my arms in help- 
lessness and horror. A sudden cessation in the infer- 
nal uproar led me to peer forth once more. They had 
dragged the charred and blackened trunk of the dead 
soldier down from the post where it had hung sus- 
pended, and were fastening De Croix in its place, 
binding his hands behind the support, and kicking 
aside the still glowing embers of the former fire to 
give him space to stand. It was brutally, fiendishly 
done, with thongs wound about his body so tightly as 
to lift the flesh in great welts, and those who labored 
at it striking cruel blows at his naked, quivering form, 
spitting viciously into his face, with taunting words, 
seeking through every form of ferocious ingenuity to 
wring from their helpless victim some sign of suffer- 
ing, some shrieking plea for mercy. Once I marked 
a red devil stick a sharpened sliver of wood into the 
Frenchman’s bare shoulder, touched it with fire, and 
then stand back laughing as the bound victim sought 
vainly to dislodge the torturing brand. 

Whatever of shrinking fear De Croix may have 
exhibited an hour before, however he may have trem- 
bled from ghostly haunting and been made coward by 

309 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


contact with the dead, he was a man now, a soldier 
worthy of his uniform and of his manhood. Merciful 
God! but it made my heart swell to see the lad, as he 
faced those dancing/ devils and looked coolly into the 
eyes of death. His face was indeed ghastly white in 
the fire-glow, save where the red stains of blood dis- 
figured it; but there was no wavering in the bold 
black eyes, no cowardly shrinking from his fate, no 
moan of weakness from between his tightly pressed 
lips. Scarce could I think of him then as being the 
same gentle exquisite that rode on the westward trail 
in powdered hair and gaudy waistcoat, worrying lest 
a pinch of dust might soil his faultless linen, — this 
begrimed, blood-stained, torn figure, naked to the 
waist, his small-clothes clinging in rags from his 
thighs, his head bare and with long black locks stream- 
ing to his shoulders. Yet it was now, not then, he won 
my respect and honor. 

Once I saw him strain desperately at the cords in 
a mad endeavor to break free, his flashing eyes on the 
demons who were torturing him beyond endurance. 
Well I knew how he longed to lay hand on any weapon, 
and thus die, battling to the end; had he succeeded, 
I doubt not I should have been at his side, forgetful 
of all else in the struggle. The deer-skin thongs, as 
unyielding as iron, held him fast. I ground my teeth 
and dug my nails into the earth to hold me from leap- 
ing forward in hopeless attempt at rescue, as a huge 
310 


A SOLDIER OF FRANCE 

brute struck him savagely with clinched hand across 
the lips. 

Suddenly, as if in response to some low spoken 
order, the jostling horde fell aside from before him, 
leaving a narrow space unoccupied. I had no time to 
wonder at this movement before a tomahawk, whirling 
rapidly and flashing like a ruby in the red glare, went 
hurling forward, and buried its shining blade deep in 
the post an inch from the prisoner’s head, the handle 
quivering with the force of impact. Again and again, 
amid yells of derision and encouragement, they threw, 
twice bringing token of blood from the grazed cheek 
and once cleaving the ear nearest me as if by a knife- 
blow. In spite of all, De Croix sneered at them, 
mocked their efforts, taunted them with their lack of 
skill, no doubt seeking to infuriate them and cause the 
striking of a merciful death-blow. 

I trembled as I gazed, held there by a fascination 
I could not overcome, shading my eyes when I saw 
an arm uplifted to make a cast, and opening them in 
dread unspeakable as I heard the dull impact of the 
blow. Never in my life have I seen such marvellous 
nerve as this French gallant displayed in those awful 
moments; standing there motionless, with never a 
tremor, no twitching of a muscle, his scornful eyes 
following the deadly steel, his lips jeering at the 
throwers, as he coolly played the game whose stake 
was death. At last some savage cast from farther 

311 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


back amid the mass of howling contestants; I failed 
to see the upraised hand that grasped the weapon, but 
caught its sudden gleam as it sped onward, and De 
Croix was pinned helpless, the steel blade wedging his 
long hair deep into the wood. 

A dozen screaming squaws now hustled forward 
the materials for a fire; I saw branches, roots, and 
leaves, piled high about his knees, and marked with a 
shudder the film of blue smoke as it soared upward 
ere the flame caught the green wood. Then suddenly 
some one kicked the pile over, hurling it into the faces 
of those who stooped beside it ; and the fierce clamor 
ceased as if by magic. 

I staggered to my knees, wondering what it could 
mean, — this strange silence after all the uproar. 
Then I saw. Out from the shadows, as if she herself 
were one, the strange girl who had been my companion 
glided forward into the red radius of the flame, and 
faced them, her back to De Croix. 

Never shall I fail to recall her as she then ap- 
peared, — a veritable goddess of light fronting the 
fiends of darkness. With cheeks so white as to seem 
touched with death, her dark eyes glowed in conscious- 
ness of power, while her long, sweeping tresses rippled 
below her waist, gleaming in a wild red beauty almost 
supernatural. How womanly she was, how fair to 
look upon, and how unconscious of aught save her 
mission! One hand she held before her in imperious 
312 



“ ‘ You shall not torture this man — he is a soldier 


of France ! ’ ” 








A SOLDIER OF FRANCE 


gesture of command; with the other she uplifted the 
crucifix, until the silver Christ sparkled in the light. 

‘‘Back!” she said clearly. ‘‘Back! You shall 
not torture this man! I know him. He is a soldier 
of France!” 


313 


CHAPTER XXX 


THE RESCUE AT THE STAKE 

HE word uttered by the 
strange woman was one to 
conjure with even then in 
the Illinois country. Many 
a year had passed since the 
French flag ruled those 
prairies, yet not a warrior 
there but knew how the men 
of that race avenged an 
injury, — how swift their stroke, how keen their 
steel. 

I watched the startled throng press closely back- 
ward, as if awed by her mysterious presence, influenced 
insensibly by her terse sentence of command, each 
dusky face a reflex of its owner’s perplexity. Drunken 
as most of them were, crazed with savage blood-lust 
and hours of remorseless torture of their victims, for 
the moment that sweet vision of womanly purity held 
them motionless, as if indeed the figure of the Christ 
she uplifted before their faces had taught them abhor- 
rence of their crimes. 



314 



THE RESCUE AT THE STAKE 

But it was not for long. To hundreds of those 
present she was merely an unknown white woman; 
while even to those who knew her best, the Potta- 
wattomies, she appeared only as one who came to 
balk them of their revenge. They may have held her 
person inviolate amid their lodges, and even have 
countenanced her strange teaching; but now she had 
ventured too far in attempting thus to stand between 
them and their victim. They held back a single mo- 
ment, halted by her fearlessness, rendered cowardly 
by vague superstitions regarding her religious power; 
but after the first breathless pause of dumb astonish- 
ment and irresolution, voice after voice arose in hoarse 
cries of rage and shouts of disapproval. There was 
a surging forward of the straining red line, while in 
their front howled and gesticulated the hideous old 
medicine-man, his painted face distorted by passion, 
eager to grasp this auspicious moment to cast down 
forever one who had sought to end his superstitious 
rule among the tribe. I marked how she drew back 
as they advanced, retreating step by step, — not, in- 
deed, as if she feared them, but rather as if some defi- 
nite purpose led her movement. Her eyes never 
wavered, her hand still uplifted the gleaming cross, 
as she retreated slowly, until she stood directly before 
De Croix, where he hung helplessly staring at her with 
an expression of fear in his face strangely at variance 
with his late show of desperate courage. 

315 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


‘‘ Back ! ” she cried again, but now in a deeper 
and fuller voice that sounded like a clear-toned bell 
above the uproar. “ I tell you I will kill this man 
with my own hand before I permit you to put further 
torture upon him ! ** 

An instant only did this threat halt the gathering 
rush. Some one voiced an Indian insult, and there 
came a fierce surging forward, although no warrior 
among them seemed eager to lead in the attack. I 
saw the woman lift her hand, and caught the glimmer 
of a steel blade; and even as I sprang erect, partially 
flinging aside the obstructing flap of the lodge, an 
Indian, stalking silently forth from the shadows, faced 
the mob, standing motionless within a foot of the des- 
perate girl, and with his back toward her. One glance 
at that tall thin figure, the stern face, the long white 
hair, told me it was the great war-chief of the Potta- 
wattomies, Gomo ; and I sank back trembling from the 
reaction of that moment’s strain. 

His words were calm, deliberate, commanding; 
but the angry roar with which they were greeted made 
me fear the horde he faced so resolutely was now be- 
yond control. He smiled, his thin lips curling in 
derision as he gazed with contempt into the threat- 
ening faces pressing closer upon every side. 

“Fear not,” he murmured aside to the watchful 
woman, and resting one hand upon her arm. “ Cut 
loose the prisoner ! ” 


316 


THE RESCUE AT THE STAKE 


She turned instantly to her task, while he spoke 
briefly the names of his chiefs ; and as each was called 
in turn, a warrior came from among the mass and 
silently stood beside him. A dozen came forth thus, 
stalwart, grim-faced braves, many with fresh scalps 
dangling at their belts. 

Gomo now spoke again, using the French tongue, 
that all present might better grasp his meaning. 

“ Brothers,” he said gravely, “ this squaw is Pot- 
tawattomie. She was adopted by our people and lives 
in our lodges. Pottawattomies are friends to French- 
men; there is no war between us. Why should 
Wyandots and Sacs wish to burn a Frenchman?” 

For a moment no one ventured to reply; the mob 
stood halted now, robbed of its leaders and its courage, 
even the noisy medicine-man silenced before this stern 
array of protecting chiefs. Loose as was Indian dis- 
cipline and tribal authority, even in drunkenness those 
desperate warriors dared not openly disregard such 
a display of power. 

“Have the Pottawattomies spoken well?” ques- 
tioned the old chief, sternly, “or have our words 
wronged our brothers? ” 

A giant of a fellow, whose broad face and huge 
head seemed disproportionate even to his big body, 
his long coarse hair profusely ornamented with shells 
and beads flashing gaudily in the firelight, pushed his 
v/ay out from among the silent mass. 

317 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“ Gomo, the great war-chief of the Pottawatto- 
mies, has spoken well/’ he said in a deep voice that 
rolled like distant thunder. “ The Wyandots did not 
know; they war not with Frenchmen, nor harm the 
women of the Pottawattomies. The Great Spirit hath 
made us brothers, and we have smoked together the 
pipe of peace.” 

Gomo moved forward with Indian dignity, and 
exchanged solemn greeting with the new-comer. 

“ It makes the hearts of the Pottawattomies light 
to hear the words of Sau-ga-nash,” he said gravely. 
Then he turned and waved his hand to his clustered 
warriors. “ Release the Frenchman, and place him 
for safety in the council lodge. Pass the woman free. 
It is the will of our chiefs.” 

The council lodge ! I glanced about me apprehen- 
sively; surely this must be the same tepee in which 
Captain Heald and I had met the chiefs ! There were 
no signs of ordinary Indian occupancy, and now as 
I looked about me the firelight from without revealed 
clearly the shading of those grotesque figures I re- 
called as having been sketched upon the outer cover- 
ing. So it was here that De Croix was to be confined ! 
I crept back hastily, dropping into place the loosened 
flap through which I had been peering. A skin or 
two were lying on the grassy floor ; and I grasped the 
larger of these, drawing it over me while I rolled 
as closely as possible against the farther wall, hoping 
318 


THE RESCUE AT THE STAKE 


desperately that no Indian guards would be posted 
within. 

The uproar outside continued, as if there were 
still opposition to the commands of the chiefs; but 
presently, as I peeped through a hole in the skin held 
over me, I perceived a sudden flash of light as the flap 
covering the entrance was drawn aside. I saw a num- 
ber of dark hands thrust within, a savage face or two 
peering for a moment about the darkened interior; 
but to my inexpressible relief only one body was thrust 
inside, with such violence, however, as to cause the 
man to fall face downward at full length. The next 
instant the lodge was again wrapped in utter darkness. 
By God’s mercy I remained undiscovered, and was 
alone with De Croix. 

For a short time, assured as I was of this fact, 
I did not venture to creep from my place of conceal- 
ment, or make my presence known to my companion. 
What ears might be listening, I knew not; nor dared 
I trust too much to the Frenchman’s already over- 
taxed nerves. He did not move from the position 
where he fell; but I could hear him groan and sob, 
with now and then a broken ejaculation. Without, 
the yelling and uproar grew perceptibly less, although 
an occasional outburst gave evidence that the carousal 
was not wholly ended. Finally I pushed back the robe 
that covered me, now grown uncomfortably warm, 
and crept cautiously toward the place where I knew 

319 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


him to be lying. It was intensely dark, and I was still 
fearful lest he might cry out if I startled him. 

“ De Croix,” I whispered, ‘‘ make no alarm ; I 
am Wayland.” 

“ Wayland ! ” I could mark the amazement in his 
tone, as he instantly sat upright, peering through the 
gloom in the direction whence my voice came. ^^Mon 
Dieu! You are here? You saw all of it?” 

“ Ay,” I answered, reaching out and groping in 
the darkness until I grasped his hand. “ You have had 
a hard time, my lad; but the worst is over, and hope 
remains for us both.” 

He shuddered so violently I could feel the spasm 
shake his body. 

“ ’T was not the dying,” he protested ; “ but did 
you see her, Wayland? Merciful God! was it really 
a living woman who stood there, or a ghost returned 
from the other world to haunt me and make living 
worse than death? ” 

“You mean the sister who interposed to save 
you? ” I asked. She was as truly alive as either of 
us. Think you she is not a stranger? ” 

He groaned, as if the confession was wrung from 
him by the terror of eternal torment. 

'*Mon Dieu! She is my wife!” 

“ Your wife? ” 

“Ay, my wife, — Marie Faneuf, of Montreal.” 

“But how comes she here, Monsieur, living in 
320 


THE RESCUE AT THE STAKE 


the Pottawattomie camp? And how comes it that you 
sought another in this wilderness, if you were already 
long wedded? ” 

‘‘ Saint Guise ! but I cannot tell you,” and his voice 
shook with the emotion that swept him. “ ’T is like 
a black dream, from which I must yet awaken. She 
died, I swear she died; the sisters told me so at the 
convent of the Ursulines, whither she fled to escape 
my unkindness, — for I did her wrong ; and I stood by 
the grave as the body they called hers was lowered 
into the ground. For all these years have I thought 
it true ; yet the girl yonder was Marie. But you. Way- 
land, — know you aught of her?” 

“ Only that she guided me hither in search 
of Mademoiselle. On the way we conversed, and 
she let me know that she had dedicated her life to 
the service of these Indians, seeking to save their 
souls.” 

“ 'T is like enough ; she was ever half a nun, and 
most religious. Yet made she no mention of me, and 
of my crying out at the house? — for I must indeed 
have seen her therej ” 

“ She asked me^ your name. Monsieur, and when 
I told her she said she recalled it not. Knew she you 
by some other? ” 

He did not answer, though I could mark his heavy 
breathing, as if he strove with himself for mastery. 
Nor did I speak again, eager as I now was to arrange 

21 321 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


some plan for the future; for this man was certainly 
in no condition to counsel with. 

I know not how long I may have rested there in 
silence, seeking vainly in my own mind for some open- 
ing of escape, or means whereby I might communicate 
with Mademoiselle. Would the strange woman forget 
me now, or would she venture upon a return with her 
message? If not, I must grope forward without her, 
hampered as I should be by this unnerved and helpless 
Frenchman. Outside, the noise had almost wholly 
ceased, — at least, close to where we were, — and I 
could perceive that a slight tinge of returning day was 
already in the air, faintly revealing the interior of the 
lodge. 

As I sat thus, drifting through inaction into a 
more despairing mood, the rear covering of the tepee 
moved almost imperceptibly, and I turned hastily to 
seek the cause, my heart in my throat lest it prove an 
enemy, perhaps some stealthy savage still seeking the 
life of De Croix. It was far from being light as yet, 
but there was sufficient to show me the faint outline 
of a woman’s figure. The Frenchman had seemingly 
heard nothing ; and I rose quickly and faced her 
eagerly. 

‘‘You have found her?” I questioned anxiously. 
** I beg you tell me that she yet lives ! ” 

“ Hush ! you speak too loud,” was the low reply. 
“ The one you seek is, I think, confined within the 
322 


THE RESCUE AT THE STAKE 


lodge of Little Sauk, and thus far remains unharmed. 
I have not been able to reach her, but she has been 
described to me as young, with dark hair and eyes, 
and as having been dragged from a horse near the 
rear of the column. Think you she is the one you 
seek? ” 

“ I do indeed ! ” I cried, in a rapture of relief. 
“ Where is this lodge in which they hold her? ” 

She hesitated to answer, as if she somewhat 
doubted my discretion. 

“ It is the third from the fire, in the row west 
of this,” she said at last. “ But it is already daylight, 
and you must lie hidden amid these skins until another 
night, when I will strive to aid you. You will be safe 
here, if you only keep hidden; and I have brought 
with me food for you both.” 

I had quite forgotten De Croix, in my eagerness to 
learn news of Mademoiselle; but now I realized he 
had risen to his knees, and was gazing at our visitor 
through the dim shadows as if half fearful even yet 
that she was but a spectre. In that gray dawn his face 
was ghastly in its whiteness, — the dark lines under 
his eyes, his matted hair, and the traces of blood upon 
his cheek, yielding a haggardness almost appalling. 

“ Marie ! ” he sobbed, catching his breath between 
the words as if they choked him, “ Marie, in God's 
name, speak one word to me ! ” 

I saw the girl start, looking around at him with 

323 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


eyes widely opened, yet with an expression in them 
I could not fathom; it was neither hatred nor love, 
though it might easily have been sorrow. 

■ ‘ Marie,’* he urged, rendered despairing by her 
silence, “ I have done you wrong, great wrong ; but 
I thought you dead. They told me so, — they told me 
it was your body they buried. Will you not speak a 
word of mercy now? ” 

Dim as the light was, I saw her eyes were moist 
as she gazed down upon him ; but there was no falter- 
ing in her voice. 

“ You were right. Monsieur le Marquis,” she said 
slowly, “ Marie Faneuf is dead. It is only Sister 
Celeste who has aided in the preservation of your life 
in the name of the Master. Make your acknowledg- 
ment to the Mother of Christ, not to me, for such 
mercy.” 

I knew not when she passed out, or how ; but we 
were alone once more, and De Croix was lying with 
his face buried in the short grass. 


324 


CHAPTER XXXI 


A SEARCH, AND ITS REWARD 



SLEPT at last, soundly, for 
several hours, lying well 
hidden behind the skins at 
the back of the lodge. There 
seemed nothing else to do; 
for poor De Croix had no 
thought other than that of 
the woman who had just left 
us, and I was exhausted by 
hours of excitement and toil. He was asleep when 
I awoke, lying just as I had left him, his face still 
buried in the short trodden grass that carpeted the 
floor. 

It was so quiet without that I listened in vain for 
a sound to indicate the presence of Indians. Silence 
so profound was in strange contrast with the hideous 
uproar of the preceding night, and curiosity led me 
finally to project my head from beneath the lodge 
covering and gain a cautious glimpse of the camp with- 
out. The yellow sunshine of the calm summer after- 

325 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


noon rested hot and glaring on the draped skins of the 
tepees, and on the brown prairie-grass, trampled by 
hundreds of passing feet. I could perceive a few 
squaws working lazily in the shade of the trees near 
the bank of the river; but no other moving figures 
were visible. Several recumbent forms were within 
my sight, their faces toward the sun, evidently sleeping 
off the heavy potations of the night. Otherwise the 
great encampment appeared completely deserted ; 
there were no spirals of smoke rising above the lodge- 
poles, no gossiping groups anywhere about. 

It was plain enough to me. Those of the warriors 
capable of further action were elsewhere engaged upon 
some fresh foray, while the majority, overcome by 
drinking, were asleep within their darkened lodges. 
Surely, daylight though it was, no safer moment could 
be expected in which to establish communication with 
Toinette. With night the camp would be again astir; 
and even if I succeeded in reaching her at some later 
hour it would leave small margin of darkness for our 
escape. Every moment of delay now added to our 
grave peril, and there was much planning to be done 
after we met. Possibly I should have waited, as I had 
been told to do; but it was ever in my blood to act 
rather than reason, and I am sure that in this case no 
cause remains for regret. 

I must confess that my heart beat somewhat 
faster, as I crept slowly forth and peered cautiously 
326 


A SEARCH, AND ITS REWARD 


around the bulging side of the big lodge I had just 
left, to assure myself no savages were stirring. It was 
not that I greatly feared the venture, nor that a sense 
of danger excited my nerves; but rather the one 
thought in my mind was that now my way lay toward 
Mademoiselle. How would she greet me? Should I 
learn my fate from her tell-tale eyes, or by a sudden 
gleam of surprise in her lovely face? These were the 
reflections that inspired me, for a new hope had been 
born within me through the forced confession of De 
Croix. 

There was little danger of exposure while I ad- 
vanced through the shelter of the lodges, for I was 
always under partial cover. But I waited and watched 
long before daring to pass across the wide open space 
in the centre of which the fire had been kindled. The 
torture-post yet stood there, black and charred, while 
the ground beneath was littered with dead ashes. The 
bodies of three white men, two of them naked and 
marked by fire, lay close at hand, just as they had been 
carelessly flung aside to make room for new victims; 
yet I dared not stop to learn who they might have been 
in life. The sight of their foul disfigurement only ren- 
dered me the more eager to reach the living with a 
message of hope. 

I moved like a snake, dragging my body an inch 
at a time by firmly grasping with extended hands the 
tough grass-roots, and writhing forward as noiselessly 

327 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


as if I were stalking some prey. There were times 
when I advanced so slowly it would have puzzled a 
watcher to determine whether mine was not also the 
body of the dead. At length, even at that snail’s rate 
of progress, I gained the protection of the tepees upon 
the other side of the camp, and skulked in among them. 
The lodge just before me, blackened by paint and 
weather, must be the one I sought. I rested close 
within its shadow, striving to assure myself there was 
no possibility of mistake. As my eyes lifted, I could 
trace in dim outline the totem of the chief faintly 
sketched on the taut skin : it was the same I had noted 
on the brawny breast of Little Sauk. 

Never did I move with greater woodland skill, for 
I felt that all depended upon my remaining undiscov- 
ered; a single false move now would defeat all hope. 
Who might be within, concealed by that black cover- 
ing, was a mystery to be solved only by extremest 
caution. 

Inch by inch I worked the skin covering of the 
tepee entrance up from the ground, screwing my eye 
to the aperture in an effort to penetrate the shrouded 
interior. But the glare of the sun was so reflected into 
my eyeballs, that it left me almost blind in the semi- 
gloom beneath that dark roof, and I could distinguish 
no object with certainty. Surely, nothing moved 
within ; and I drew myself slowly forward, until half my 
body lay extended upon the beaten dirt-floor. It was 
328 


A SEARCH, AND ITS REWARD 

then that I caught a glimpse of a face peering at me 
from out the shadows, — the face of Toinette; and, alas 
for my eager hopes of surprising her heart and solving 
its secrets ! the witch was actually laughing in silence 
at my predicament. The sight made my face flush in 
sudden indignation; but before I could find speech, 
she had hastily accosted me. 

“ Good faith. Master Wayland ! but I greet you 
gladly ! ” she said, and her soft hand was warm upon 
mine ; “ yet it truly caused me to smile to observe the 
marvellous caution with which you came hither.” 

“ It must have been indeed amusing,” I answered, 
losing all my vain aspirations in a moment under her 
raillery ; “ though it is not every prisoner in an Indian 
camp who could find like cause for merriment.” 

Her eyes grew sober enough as they rested inquir- 
ingly on my face, for all that they still held an irri- 
tatingly roguish twinkle in their depths. 

It was the expression upon your face which so 
amused me,” she explained. ‘‘ I am not indifferent to 
all that your coming means, nor to the horrors this 
camp has witnessed. More than that, you appear to 
me like one risen from the dead. I have truly mourned 
for you, John Wayland. I lost all power, all desire for 
resistance, when I saw you stricken from your horse, 
and often since my eyes have been moist in thoughts 
of you. No doubt T was but the sudden reaction from 
seeing you again alive that made me so forgetful of 

329 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


these dread surroundings as to smile. I beg you to 
forgive me; it was not heartlessness, but merely the 
way of a thoughtless girl, Monsieur.” 

It had been impossible for me to resist her cajol- 
ery from the beginning; and now I read in her eyes 
the truth of all she spoke. 

“ There is naught for you to forgive. Mademoi- 
selle,” I answered, drawing myself wholly within the 
tepee and resting on my knees. “ But are you quite 
alone here, and without guards? ” 

‘‘ For the present, yes. Little Sauk has been gone 
from the camp for some hours. They watch me with 
some care at night, — yet of what use can their guard- 
ing be? If I should get without the lodge, escape 
would be hopeless for a girl like me. But now tell 
me about yourself. Are you also prisoner to the In- 
dians? Surely I saw you struck down in that mad 
melee. ’Twas then I lost heart, and gave up every 
hope of rescue.” 

“No, I am not a prisoner. Mademoiselle. I fell, 
stunned by a blow dealt me from behind, but was saved 
from capture by the falling of my horse across my 
body. I am here now of my own will, and for no other 
purpose than to save you.” 

“ To save me ! Oh, Monsieur ! it would make me 
blush really to think I ranked so high in your esteem. 
Was it not rather that other girl you came to seek, — 
the one you sought so far through the wilderness, 

330 


A SEARCH, AND ITS REWARD 


only to find hidden in this encampment of savages? 
Tell me, Monsieur, was she by any chance of fate the 
heroine who last night plucked Captain de Croix from 
the flames of torture? ” 

** You know, then, of his danger and deliverance? ” 
I said, not feeling eager to answer her query. “ ’T was 
a most brave and womanly act.” ^ 

“ A strange exercise of power, indeed. Monsieur,” 
and she looked directly into my eyes ; ‘‘ and the sav- 
ages tell me she claimed to have knowledge of him.” 

Surely I had a right to relate the whole story of 
De Croix’s confession; yet somehow I did not deem 
it the manly thing to do. Rather, I would let her learn 
the truth in God’s own time, and from other lips than 
mine. Perchance she would respect me more in the 
end for keeping silence now. But in this decision I 
failed to consider that hasty words of explanation 
might naturally lead her to believe the existing friend- 
ship mine instead of his. 

“We met her across the river in the darkness last 
night,” I answered. “ At my request, she acted as my 
guide into the Indian camp.” 

The expression in her eyes puzzled me ; nor could 
I interpret the sudden flush that lent color to her 
cheeks. 

“ You are frank, Monsieur,” she said quietly, “ and 
doubtless ’tis better so. But the strange situation of 
this young woman has much of romance about it, and 

331 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


interests me greatly. How chances she to be here? 
Surely she cannot be of Indian blood? ” 

“ She holds connection with some sisterhood of 
the Church, as I understand, and has lived for some 
time amid the Pottawattomies, seeking to win the 
heathen to Christ.” 

“A Catholic?” she asked, her eyes brightening 
with deeper interest. 

“ Such is my understanding, though in truth she 
never said as much to me. Indeed, we spoke little. 
Mademoiselle, for our path was in the midst of peril, 
even before the capture of poor De Croix upset all our 
plans.” 

“ Doubtless,” she answered with a slight trace of 
sarcasm in the soft voice. “ But Captain de Croix, — 
he was not seriously injured, I trust? Where have the 
savages confined him? And know you what they in- 
tend as to his future? ” 

‘‘ He will forever bear some scars, I fear,” I an- 
swered, wondering dully at the calmness of her in- 
quiry. “ I have just left him sleeping quietly in the 
council tent. Know you anything of what fate has 
befallen other of our friends of the garrison?” 

Her eyes grew sad. Only what little I have 
learned through the taunting of my own captor,” she 
answered, her voice trembling. “ Captain Wells is 
dead, together with Ensign Ronan and Surgeon Van 
Voorhees. Both Captain Heald and his wife were 

332 


A SEARCH, AND ITS REWARD 


sorely wounded, and they, with Lieutenant Helm, are 
prisoners somewhere in the camp; but the Lieuten- 
ant’s wife is safe with the Silver-man’s family across the 
river. The Indians hold these in hope of ransom, and 
wreak their vengeance upon the common soldiers who 
were so unfortunate as to fall into their hands alive. 
Yet few, I think, survived the massacre.” 

“ You have doubtless guessed aright. I noted 
with what fearful spirit of revenge the savages dealt 
with some of their captives, while sparing others. 
Surely you, for instance, have met with but little hard- 
ship thus far at the hands of Little Sauk?” 

She glanced up at me, with a touch of the old 
coquettishness in her dark eyes and a quick toss of her 
head, while one white hand smoothed her soft hair. 

“ Think you then. Monsieur, I do not look so ill? ” 

In spite of every effort at control, my heart swept 
into my eyes; she must have read the swift message, 
for her own drooped instantly, with a quick flutter of 
long lashes against her cheeks. 

“ I have already told you how greatly I admire 
you,” I faltered, “ and you make no less fair a picture 
now.” 

“ Then I shall not tempt you to add to your com- 
pliment,” she hastily responded, rising to her feet, “ for 
I like loyalty in a man better than mere gallantry of 
speech. You ask me about Little Sauk. He holds me 
for ransom, — although Heaven knows ’twill prove 
333 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 

but waste of time, for I am aware of no one in all the 
East who would invest so much as a dollar to redeem 
me from Indian hands. Yet such is his purpose, as 
told to me this morning.” 

“ Perchance, then,” I urged, doubtfully, “ you may 
prefer remaining quietly here rather than risk the peril 
of trying to escape?” 

She looked at me keenly, as if in wonder at my 
words ; and I could see that her eyes were moistening 
with the sudden rush of feeling. 

“You are either dull of comprehension, John 
Wayland,” she said, a bit pertly, “ or else you under- 
stand me less than any man I ever knew. If I seem 
brave and light of heart amidst all this horror, *t is 
merely that I may not utterly break down, and become 
an object of contempt. I feel. Monsieur, I am not 
devoid of heart nor of the finer qualities of woman- 
hood. Prefer to remain here? Holy Mother of Christ! 
It would be my choice to die out yonder on the prairie, 
rather than stay here in these Indian lodges. There ^ 
is no peril I would not face joyfully, in an effort to 
escape from this place of torture and barbarity. I con- 
fess that an horn: ago I cared not greatly what my 
end might be; I had lost heart and hope. But now 
your coming, as of one risen from the dead, has 
brought back my courage.” 

“ You will go, then, whenever and wherever T 
say? ” 

334 


A SEARCH, AND ITS REWARD 


She stepped forward with her old frank confi- 
dence, resting both hands in mine, her eyes upon my 
face. 

“ Out yonder in the night, and amid the sand, John 
Wayland,” she said earnestly, “ I remember saying 
I would travel with you whithersoever you wished. I 
know you far better now than I did then, and I hesi- 
tate not at taking upon myself the same vow.” 

What power then sealed my lips, I know not. 
Doubtless there is a fate in such matters, yet *tis 
strange the light of invitation in her eyes did not draw 
me to lay bare my heart. In naught else had I a drop 
of coward blood within my veins; while here I hesi- 
tated, fearful lest her pleading face might change to 
sudden roguishness, and she laugh lightly at the love 
that held my heart in thrall. Truly, the witch had 
puzzled me so sorely with her caprices, her quick 
change of mood, her odd mixture of girlish frankness 
and womanly reserve, that I knew not which might 
prove the real Toinette, — the one to trust, or the one 
to doubt. So I stood there, clasping her soft hands 
in mine, my heart throbbing, yet my tongue hesitating 
to perform its office. But at last the halting words 
came in a sudden, irrepressible rush. 

“ Toinette ! ” I cried, ‘‘ Toinette ! I could forget 
all else, — our danger here, the horrors of the night 
just passed, the many dead out yonder, — all else but 
you.” 


335 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


She gave a sudden startled cry, her affrighted eyes 
gazing across my shoulder. I wheeled, with quick 
intuition of danger; and there, just within the en- 
trance of the tepee, the flap of which he had let fall 
behind him, in grave silence stood an Indian. 


336 


CHAPTER XXXII 


THE PLEDGE OF A WYANDOT 



SINGLE glance told me who 
our unwelcome visitor must 
be. That giant body, sur- 
mounted by the huge broad 
face, could belong to none 
other than the Wyandot, 
Sau-ga-nash, — him who had 
spoken for the warriors of 
his tribe before the torture- 
stake. He stood erect and rigid, his stern, questioning 
eyes upon us, his lips a thin line of repression. With 
a quick movement, I thrust the girl behind me, and 
faced him, motionless, but with every muscle strained 
for action. The Indian spoke slowly, and used perfect 
English. 

“Ugh!** he said. “Who are you? A prisoner? 
Surely you cannot be that same Frenchman we helped 
entertain last night? *’ 

“ I am not the Frenchman,** I answered deliber- 
ately, vainly hoping his watchful eyes might wander 
337 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


about the lodge long enough to yield me chance for 
a spring at his throat, ‘‘ though I was one of his party. 
I only came here to bring comfort to- this poor girl.'* 

“No doubt she needs it,” he replied drily, “ and 
your way is surely a good one. Yet I doubt if Little 
Sauk would approve it, and as his friend, I must speak 
for him in the matter. Do you say you are also a 
prisoner? To what chief? ” 

“ To none,” I answered shortly, resolved now to 
venture all in a trial of strength. He read this decision 
in my eyes, and stepped back warily. At the same 
instant Toinette flung her arms restrainingly about my 
neck. 

“ Don't, John ! ” she urged, using my name thus 
for the first time; “the savage has a gun hidden 
beneath his robe ! ” 

I saw the weapon as she spoke, and saw too the 
angry glint in the fellow's eye as he thrust the muzzle 
menacingly forward. As we stood thus, glaring at 
each other, a sudden remembrance made me pause. 
“ Sau-ga-nash ”? — surely it was neither more nor 
less than a Wyandot expression signifying “ English- 
man.” That broad face was not wholly Indian ; could 
this be the half-breed chief of whom I had so often 
heard? 'Twas worth the chance to learn. 

“ You are Sau-ga-nash? ” I asked, slowly, Toinette 
still clinging to me, her face over her shoulder to front 
the silent savage. “A chief of the Wyandots?” 

338 


THE PLEDGE OF A WYANDOT 


He moved his head slightly, with a mutter of ac- 
quiescence, his eyes expressing wonder at the question. 

“ The same whom the Americans name Billy 
Caldwell? ” 

‘‘ ’T is the word used by the whites.” 

I drew a quick breath of relief, which caused 
Mademoiselle to release her grasp a little, as her anx- 
ious eyes sought my face for explanation. 

“ Recall you a day twelve years ago on the River 
Raisin?” I asked clearly, feeling confident now that 
my words were no longer idle. “ An Indian was 
captured in his canoe by a party of frontiersmen who 
were out to revenge a bloody raid along the valley of 
the Maumee. That Indian was a Wyandot and a 
chief. He was bound to a tree beside the river bank 
and condemned to torture; when the leader of the 
rangers, a man with a gray beard, stood before him 
rifle in hand, and swore to kill the first white man who 
put flint and steel to the wood. Recall you this, 
Sau-ga-nash? ” 

The stolid face of the listening savage changed, 
the expression of revengeful hostility merging into one 
of undisguised amazement. 

“That which you picture has not left my mem- 
ory,” he answered gravely. 

“ Nor the pledge you gave to that white captain 
when he brought you safely to Detroit? ” I queried, 
eagerly. 


339 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“ Nor the pledge. But what has all this to do 
here? ” 

“ Only, Sau-ga-nash, that I am Major David Way- 
land’s son.” 

The Indian sprang forward, his eyes burning 
fiercely; and thinking his movement to be hostile, 
I thrust the girl aside that I might be free to repel 
his attack. But he did not touch me, merely peering 
eagerly into my face with a keen questioning look that 
read my every feature. 

“You have the nose and forehead,” he reflected 
aloud; “yes, and the eyes. Before the Great Spirit, 
I will redeem my pledge; a chief of the Wyandots 
cannot lie.” 

He paused, and I could mark the varied emotions 
that swayed him, so deeply was he moved by this 
strange discovery. Unconsciously my hand clasped 
Mademoiselle’s, for now I felt that our fate hung on 
his decision. 

“ ’T is a hard task. Master Way land,” he admitted 
at length, almost wearily, “ but for your father’s sake 
it shall be done. I see only one way for it, and that 
by water. Know you anything about the management 
of boats? ” 

“ Only as I have paddled upon the Maumee,” I 
answered, doubtfully, “ although I handled a small sail 
when a mere boy in the far East.” 

“ ’T will suffice if the fair weather hold, as is likely 

340 


THE PLEDGE OF A WYANDOT 


at this season. At least it may be risked. The land 
trails are crowded by Indians from far-off tribes, hast- 
ening hither in hope of fight and spoils. More than 
a hundred came in to-day, painted for war, and angry 
because too late. You could not escape encountering 
such parties, were you to flee by trail eastward; nor 
would they show mercy to any white. The Silver-man 
has returned to his home north of the river ; but ^t is 
all that we who are friendly to him can do to keep 
these warriors from attacking even there. ^T is the 
Indians from far away that make the trouble; and 
these grow more numerous and powerful each day. 
We keep a guard at the house to save the Silver-man 
and his family; and were more whites to seek refuge 
there, we should lose all control. There is still safety 
at the mouth of the Saint Joseph River, and ’t is there 
you must go. The venture must be made to-night, and 
by water. Is it known to any Indian that you are alive 
and within this camp?” 

‘‘ To none.” 

“That is well; we can work best alone. Now 
listen. At midnight. Master Way land, a boat, pre- 
pared for the trip, will await you, hidden under the 
ruins of the Agency building. The river flows under 
the flooring deep enough for the purpose, and I will 
place the boat there with my own hand. Beyond that, 
all must rest upon your own skill and good fortune. 
You will wait here,” and he glanced about anxiously 

341 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


for some means of concealment, “lying behind those 
robes yonder, until the hour.” 

“ Here? ” I questioned, thinking instantly of my 
duty to De Croix. “ But I would first have speech 
with the Frenchman. He is my friend, Sau-ga-nash. 
Besides, I have left my rifle in the council lodge.” 

The face of the savage darkened, and his eyes 
gleamed ominously as they roamed questioningly from 
my face to Toinette’s. 

“ I said you were to stay hidden here,” he an- 
swered shortly, his tone showing anger, and his hand 
pointing at the robes. “ Many of the sleeping Potta- 
wattomies are again astir without, and you could not 
hope to gain the council lodge undiscovered. What 
care I for this Frenchman, that I should risk my life 
to save him? I pledge myself only to Major Way- 
land’s son; and even if I aid you, it is on condition 
that you go alone.” 

“ Alone, say you? ” and I rested my hand on Ma- 
demoiselle’s shoulder. “ I would die here, Sau-ga-nash, 
and by torture, before I would consent to go one step 
without this girl.” 

The half-breed scowled at me, drawing his robe 
about him in haughty indifference. 

“ Then be it so,” he said mockingly. “ ’T is your 
own choice. I have offered redemption of my pledge.” 

I started to utter some harsh words in answer; 
but before I could speak, Toinette pressed her soft 
palm upon my lips in protest. 

342 


THE PLEDGE OF A WYANDOT 


“ Refuse him not,” she murmured hastily. “ ’T is 
the only chance; for my sake, do not anger him.” 

What plan her quick wit may have engendered, 
I did not know; but I yielded to the entreaty in her 
pleading eyes, and sullenly muttered the first conscious 
lie of my life. 

** I accept your terms, Sau-ga-nash, harsh as they 
are.” 

He looked from one to the other of us, his face 
dark with distrust and doubt. 

“ You are not mine to dispose of,” he said sternly 
to the trembling girl, who visibly shrank from his ap- 
proach, and clung once more to me. “You are pris- 
oner to Little Sauk; nor will I release one thus held 
by the Pottawattomies. They and the Wyandots are 
brothers. But I trust you, and not the word of this 
white man. Pledge me not to go with him, and I will 
believe you.” 

She glanced first at me, then back into the 
swarthy, merciless face. Her cheeks were white and 
her lips trembled, yet her eyes remained clear and 
calm. 

“ I give you my word, Sau-ga-nash,” she said 
quietly. “ While I am held as prisoner by Little Sauk, 
I will not go away with John Way land.” 

Little as I believed these words to be true at the 
time, the sound of them so dulled me with apprehen- 
sion that I could only stare at her in speechless amaze- 
343 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 

ment. It seemed to me then as if the power of reason 
had deserted me, as if my brain had been so burdened 
as to refuse its office. I recall that Toinette almost 
compelled me to lie down against the farther side of 
the lodge, placing a pile of skins in front of me and 
assuming a position herself where she could occasion- 
ally reach across the barrier and touch me with her soft 
hand. No doubt she realized the struggle in my mind, 
for she spoke little after the departure of the half- 
breed, as if anxious to permit me to figure out the 
future for myself. Little by little I faced it, and came 
to an irrevocable decision. It was to be Toinette or 
nothing. While it might be true that she was in no 
immediate danger, and possibly could be safely ran- 
somed if I once escaped to civilization, yet the risk of 
such venture and delay was too great; nor would my 
love abide so vast a sacrifice on her part. I thought to 
say this to her; but there was a look of firm decision 
in her sweet face, as her dark eyes met mine, that some- 
how held me silent. I felt that in her own heart she 
must already know what action I would choose, and 
the final moment would prove sufficient test for her 
evident determination. Reassured here, my thoughts 
turned to De Croix; but that was useless. I could 
send no message to him ; he was no longer in especial 
peril, and perhaps would not willingly desert his newly 
found wife even to escape the savages. Nay, — it was 
to be Toinette and I, now and forever. 

344 


THE PLEDGE OF A WYANDOT 

I do not clearly remember at this day what it was 
we spoke about in the brief whispering that passed 
between us while we waited there. Neither of us felt 
like voicing our real thoughts, and so we but dis- 
sembled, making commonplaces fill the gaps between 
our silences. The night found us undisturbed, and it 
shut down so darkly within the narrow confines of the 
lodge that I lost all trace of her presence, but for an 
occasional movement or the sound of her low voice. 
Without, the rapidly increasing noise indicated a re- 
turn of many savages to the camp, until at last a fire 
was kindled in the open space, its red flame sending 
some slight illumination where we were, but not 
enough to reveal the interior of the lodge. An Indian 
brought the girl some food, entering and leaving with- 
out uttering a sound ; and we two ate together, striv- 
ing to speak lightly in order to make the coarse meal 
more palatable. 

Suddenly I became aware of a faint scratching 
upon the skin of the lodge, at my back. At first I 
supposed it to be some wild animal, or possibly a stray 
dog ; but the regularity of it showed a purpose of some 
kind. Could it be De Croix? Or was it the half-breed 
with some secret message he dared not deliver openly ? 
I lifted the lodge covering slightly, and placed my lips 
to the aperture. 

“Is some one there?” I whispered cautiously. 
“ Who is it? ” 

345 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“I am Sister Celeste^’ came the immediate low 
reply. ** Are you the white man I guided? ** 

“ Ay,” I answered, rejoicing at this rare good for- 
tune, ** and I beg you to listen to what I say. There 
will be a boat awaiting us beneath the old Agency 
building at midnight. You must be there with De 
Croix.” 

“ De Croix? ” 

“Yes; I know not if that be his name to you, but 
I mean the Frenchman whose life you saved. Will 
you take him thither at midnight, together with the 
rifle I left in the council lodge?” 

For a moment she did not answer. Doubtless it 
was a bitter struggle for her thus to agree even to 
meet the man again. At last she made reply, although 
I could plainly mark the faltering of her voice. 

“ The man of whom you speak shall be there,” she 
said, “ unless some accident make it impossible.” 

As I drew back my head, and sat upright. Made- 
moiselle spoke questioningly. 

“ With whom were you conversing just now. 
Monsieur? ” 

“ The young woman of whom we have spoken so 
often,” I answered thoughtlessly. “ She has pledged 
herself to bring De Croix to the meeting-place.” 

“ Indeed ! ” she exclaimed, with accent so peculiar 
I knew not how to interpret it. “ It almost makes me 
desire to form one of your party.” 

346 


CHAPTER XXXIII 


AN INTERVENTION OF FATE 

ORM one of our party?” I 
echoed, believing I must 
have misunderstood her 
words. “ Surely, Mademoi- 
selle, you cannot mean that 
you take your promise to the 
half-breed so seriously as 
voluntarily to remain in 
captivity? ” 

“ Yes, but I do. Monsieur! ” and the tone in which 
she said it was firm with decision. ‘‘ The Indian asked 
my pledge in all solemnity, and has gone away trust- 
ing to it. My conscience could never again be clear 
did I prove false in such a matter. You also made a 
pledge, even before mine was given; was it not your 
purpose to abide by it?” 

“ No,” I answered, a bit shortly. ** I merely agreed 
to his proposition at your expressed desire that I 
should, and because I believed you had framed some 
plan of escape. Have you such small respect for me. 
Mademoiselle, as to think I could consent to leave you 
347 



WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


here alone and at the mercy of these red fiends? Have 
I risked my life in coming here for no other end than 
this? ” 

I felt her reach her arm across the pile of skins 
lying between us, and grasp my hand within her own. 

‘‘But, dear friend, you must!” she said, pleadingly, 
her softly modulated voice dwelling upon the words 
as if they came hard. “ Truly you must, John Way- 
land, and for my sake as well as your own. I am 
comparatively safe here, — safe at least from actual 
physical harm, so long as the savages dream that the 
sparing of my life will yield them profit. You have no 
right to remain in such peril as surrounds you here, 
when by so doing you benefit no one. You have father 
and mother awaiting in prayer your safe return to them 
yonder on the Maumee; while I, — I have no one 
even to ask how sad my fate may be. Think you that 
because I am a girl I must therefore be all selfish- 
ness? or that I would ever permit you thus to sac- 
rifice yourself unnecessarily for me? No, no. Monsieur I 
I will remain prisoner to Little Sauk, for my sacred 
word has been pledged; and you must go, because 
there are others to whom your life is of value. Nor 
need you go empty-handed, for the one you have 
sought so far and long seems now ready enough to 
travel eastward with you.” 

Scarcely had her voice ceased, leaving me strug- 
gling to find fit words to change her mad decision, 

348 


AN INTERVENTION OF FATE 


when a rough hand flung back the entrance flap, and 
the naked body of an Indian, framed for a single in- 
stant against the light, lurched heavily through the 
opening. Even that brief glimpse told me the man 
had been drinking to excess ; while for the moment, as 
I huddled down closer behind my robes, I was unable 
to make out his identity. 

‘‘ Where white woman? ” he ejaculated gruffly, as 
he paused, blinded by the darkness. ‘‘Why she not 
come help me?” 

His quick ear evidently caught the slight rustle of 
the girl’s skirt as she rose hastily to her feet, for with 
a muttered Indian oath the savage lurched forward. 
I could scarcely make out the dimmest shadow of them 
in the dense gloom, yet I seemed to know that he had 
grasped her roughly, though not the slightest sound 
of fear or pain came from her lips. 

“ Ugh ! better come ! ” he muttered, a veiled savage 
threat growling in his tone. “You my squaw; cook 
in my lodge; get meal now.” 

“But where? and how?” she asked, her voice 
trembling perceptibly, yet striving to placate him by a 
seeming willingness to obey. “ I have nothing here 
to cook, nor have I fire.” 

“ Indian squaw no talk back ! ” he retorted angrily. 
“ This way I show white squaw to mind chief ! ” 

I heard plainly the brutal blow he struck her, 
though even as she reeled back she managed to stifle 
349 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


the scream upon her lips, so that it was barely audi- 
ble. With one bound I was over the barrier of robes 
and clutching with tingling fingers for the brute. I 
touched his feathered head-dress at last, and he must 
have supposed me his helpless victim, for with a grunt 
of satisfaction he struck once again, the blow meeting 
my shoulder, where he judged in the dark her face 
would be. 

“ White squaw mind now — ” 

I had him gripped by the throat before he ended, 
and we went down together for a death-struggle in the 
darkness, from which each realized in an instant both 
could never rise again. My furious grip sobered him, 
and he made desperate efforts to break free, struggling 
vainly to utter some cry for rescue. Once I felt him 
groping at his waist for a knife; but I got first clasp 
upon its hilt, though I twisted helplessly for some 
minutes before I could loosen his hold at my wrist 
so as to strike him with the blade. His teeth closed 
upon my hand, biting deep into the flesh like a wild- 
cat, and the sharp sting of it yielded me the desperate 
strength I needed to wrench my hand free, and with 
one quick blow the knife I clutched cut deep into his 
side, so that I could feel the hot blood spurt forth 
over my hand. I held him in a death grip, for I knew 
a single cry meant ruin to all our plans, until the last 
breath sped, and I knew I lay prostrate above a 
corpse. It had been so swift and fierce a contest that 

350 


AN INTERVENTION OF FATE 

I staggered half-dazed to my feet, peering about me as 
if expecting another attack. I was steadied somewhat 
by the sound of a low sob from the darkness. 

“ ’T is well over with, Toinette,** I murmured 
hastily, my voice trembling from the strain that still 
shook me. 

‘‘ Oh, John! John Wayland! And you are truly 
unhurt of the struggle?” It was scarcely her voice 
speaking, so agitated was it. “ Have you killed him? ” 

“Yes,” I answered, finding my way cautiously 
toward her, and speaking in whispers. “ I had no 
other choice. It was either his life or yours and mine. 
Knew you the savage? ” 

“ It was Little Sauk,” she replied, clinging to me, 
and growing somewhat calmer from my presence. 
“ Oh, what can we do now? ” 

“ There remains but one thing, and that is to ac- 
cept the chance that Providence has given us. There 
remains no longer a shadow of excuse for your staying 
here, even by your own reasoning. You are no longer 
prisoner to Little Sauk. Yoiu: pledge has been dis- 
solved by Fate, and it must be God’s will that you go 
forth with me. What say you. Mademoiselle? ” And 
I crushed her hands in mine. 

I could feel her slight form tremble as I waited 
her reply, and believed she peered across my shoulder 
through the darkness, imagining she saw the dead 
Indian’s form lying there. 

351 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“Do you truly wish it?” she questioned at last, 
as though warring with herself. “ Think you she 
would greatly care?” 

’T is a strangely perverse thing, the human mind. 
As there dimly dawned upon me a conception of her 
meaning, — a knowledge that this seemingly heart- 
free girl cared enough for me to exhibit such jealousy 
of another, — I would not undeceive her by a word 
of explanation. 

“ I certainly do wish it,” was my grave answer, 
“ nor does it greatly matter what the desire of any 
other may be. This is not an invitation to a ball. 
Mademoiselle. I beg you answer me; will you go? ” 

She looked tov/ard me, wondering at my words. 

“ Yes,” she said simply. “ Has the time come? ” 

“ I have no certain means of knowing ; but it can- 
not be far from the hour, and we shall be much safer 
without.” 

I took the Indian’s knife with me, wiping the long 
blade upon the pile of skins, and placing it convenient 
to my hand within the bosom of my hunting-shirt. 
It was dark enough back of the lodge away from the 
glare of the fires, and we rested there well within the 
shadow, for some time, while I scanned the sur- 
roundings and planned as best I might our future 
movements. 

“ Was it from dread of venturing once more upon 
the water that you held back so long?” I asked 

352 


AN INTERVENTION OF FATE 

her, seeking rudely to delve into the secret of her 
reserve. 

‘‘ Have you ever found me of cowardly heart, 
Monsieur? ” she questioned in return, parrying with 
quick skill, “ that you should think any bodily terror 
could hold me back? If I had reasons other than those 
already given, they were worthy ones.’’ 

‘‘You are not afraid of the perils before us?” 

“No,” she answered; “my heart beats fast, but 
^t is not from fear.” 

Only a few scattered lodges had been raised to the 
eastward of where we were, nor did these show any 
signs of life. We crept forward with painful slowness, 
partially hiding our movements by following a shallow, 
curving gully, until we had gained the extreme limits 
of the encampment, where we crawled out into the 
gloom of the surrounding prairie. Not until then did 
either of us venture to stand erect, or advance with 
any degree of freedom. 

Directly ahead of us there was nothing by which 
I could safely guide our course. The flat sameness of 
the plain offered no landmarks, while the night sky 
was so thickly overcast as to leave no stars visible. 
Nor was there light of any kind, save that of the fires 
in the camp we had just left. I hesitated to risk the 
open prairie thus unaided, lest we should wander 
astray and lose much valuable time; so, although it 
measurably increased our peril of encountering parties 
23 353 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


of savages, I turned sharply northward, keeping the 
bright Indian fires upon our left, and groping forward 
through the gloom toward where I knew the main 
branch of the river must lie. It was neither the time 
nor place for speech. I held her hand closely while 
we moved onward silently, carefully guarding each 
step lest by mischance it should bring betrayal. Once, 
after we had reached the river and were moving east- 
ward again, a party of Indians passed us, coming so 
silently out of the black void, in their soft moccasins, 
that I had barely time to hold her motionless before 
they were fairly upon us. I counted nine of them, 
moving rapidly in single file, like so many black 
ghosts. We waited with wildly throbbing hearts, lis- 
tening for fear others might follow in their trail. 

We were almost beside the walls of the factory 
building before either of us was aware of its proximity. 
Even then, as I lay prone on the earth and studied its 
dim outlines, they possessed nothing of familiarity, for 
the high-pitched roof had fallen in and carried with 
it the greater portion of the upper walls, leaving a 
mere shell, shapeless and empty. I rested there, gaz- 
ing at it, and wondering how best we might proceed 
to find our way beneath where the boat was to be 
moored, when I felt Mademoiselle’s fingers press my 
arm warningly. Scarcely a yard away, on a ridge of 
higher ground, two dim figures came to a sudden pause. 

“ I perceive naught of the presence of your friends 
354 


AN INTERVENTION OF FATE 

as yet, Monsieur,” spoke a soft voice, ** but I will re- 
main until certain of the outcome.” 

“Then your decision is unchanged?” asked the 
other, in deeper accent, full of earnest pleading. “ All 
is to be over between us from this hour? And you 
deliberately choose to devote your life to the redemp- 
tion of these savages?” 

“We have discussed all this at length. Monsieur 
le Marquis, as we came along, and, as you fully know, 
my choice is made beyond recall. I am here to serve 
you to-night, because it seems to be a duty given unto 
me by some strange Providence; and I have relied 
upon your courtesy to make it as little unpleasant as 
possible. I pray you, beseech me no more. The girl 
I once was lives no longer; the woman I now am has 
been given a special mission by God, too sacred to be 
cast aside for aught that earth has to offer her of hap- 
piness. We part in kindness. Monsieur, — in friend- 
ship even; but that which was once between us may 
never be again.” 

There was no answer ; even the reckless audacity 
of a courtier was silenced by that calm final dismissal. 
It was Mademoiselle who spoke in swift whisper, her 
lips at my ear. 

“ Speak! who is she? ” 

“ The woman of whom you have heard so often, 
— ^the missionary in the Indian camp.” 

“Yes, I know,” impatiently; “but I mean her 
name?” 355 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


“ She calls herself Sister Celeste ; I have indeed 
heard mention of another, but it abides not in my 
memory.” 

“ Y ou deceive me, Monsieur ; yet I know, and 
will speak with her,” was the quick decision. ‘‘ Mother 
of God ! ’t is a voice too dear ever to be forgotten.” 

She was beside them with a step, seeming no 
doubt a most fair vision to be born so instantly of 
the night-shadows. 

“Marie Faneuf!” she exclaimed, eagerly. “I 
know not by what strange fortune I meet you here, 
but surely you will not refuse greeting to an old 
friend? ” 

The girl drew hastily back a step, as if her 
first thought was flight; but ere such end could be 
accomplished. Mademoiselle had clasped her arm 
impetuously. 

“ Marie ! ” she pleaded, “ can it be possible you 
would flee from me?” 

“ Nay,” returned the other, her voice trembling 
painfully, as she struggled to restrain herself. “ It is 
not that. Dear, dear friend ! I knew you were among 
the few saved from Dearborn. The American hunter 
told me, and ever since h£ve I tried to avoid you in 
the camp. ’Twas not for lack of the old love, yet I 
feared to meet you. Much has occurred of late to 
make the keeping of my vow most difficult. I have 
been weak, and grievously tempted; and I felt scarce 

356 


AN INTERVENTION OF FATE 

strong enough, even though protected by prayers, to 
withstand also my deep love for you.” 

Their voices insensibly merged into French, each 
speaking so rapidly and low that I could get little 
meaning of it. Then I noted De Croix, half lying upon 
the ground, his head hidden within his hands. With 
sudden remembrance of the work before us, I touched 
his shoulder. 

“ Come below. Monsieur, and help me search for 
the boat,” I said, kindly, for I was truly touched by his 
grief. “ It will help clear your mind to have some 
labor to accomplish.” 

“I dare not, Wayland!” he ansv/ered hoarsely, 
and the face he uplifted toward me was strangely 
white and drawn. “ I must stay with her ; I dare not 
leave her again alone, lest she escape me once more. 
She is mine, truly mine by every law of the Church, — 
my wife, I tell you, and I would die here in the wilder- 
ness rather than permit her longer to doom herself to 
such a fate as this.” 

His words and manner were so wild they startled 
me. Surely, in his present frame of mind he would 
prove useless on such a mission as that before us. 

“ Then remain here. Monsieur ! ” I said, “ and do 
your best to win her consent to accompany us. No 
doubt Mademoiselle will aid you all that is in her 
power.” 


357 


CHAPTER XXXIV 


A STUMBLE IN THE DARK 



LOOMY as the hole was, 
there was no help for it. I 
could perceive nothing be- 
low, not even my hand when 
held within a foot of my 
eyes ; nor had I the slightest 
previous knowledge of the 
place to guide me, even had 
not the fire ruins above ef- 
fectually blocked every passage-way with fallen debris. 
Listening however intently, my ears could distinguish 
only the faint lapping of the river as it crept about the 
log piling on which the house had been built; but 
beyond this dim guidance, I had to feel my way for- 
ward with extended hands and groping feet. Swing- 
ing to my back the rifle that De Croix had brought, and 
casting an inquiring glance backward at the little 
group huddled upon the bank, almost invisible even at 
that short distance, I grasped the piling nearest me and 
slid down into the unknown darkness. 

My feet found solid earth, although as I reached 

358 


A STUMBLE IN THE DARK 


out toward the left my moccasin came in contact with 
water, which told me at once that only a narrow path 
divided the steep bank of the excavation from the en- 
croaching river. The floor above was originally low, 
so that I could easily touch the heavy supporting 
beams; and I had felt my way scarcely a yard before 
coming in contact with a serious obstruction, where 
the weakened floor had sagged so as almost to close 
the narrow passage. This caused me to wade farther 
out into the water, testing each step carefully as I 
followed the sharp curving of the shore-line. I had no 
fear of meeting any living enemy within that silent 
cave, my sole doubt being as to whether the half-breed 
chief had fulfilled his promise and brought the boat, my 
gravest anxiety to discover it early and get my party 
safely away before the Indian encampment learned 
the truth. 

I must have reached the apex of the little cove, 
moving so cautiously that not a ripple of the water 
revealed my progress, and feeling for each inch of way 
like a blind man along city streets, when my knee sud- 
denly struck some obstacle, and seeking to learn what 
it might be, I muttered a silent prayer of thanksgiving 
as I touched the unmistakable sides of a boat. It was 
a lumping, awkward craft, rudely fashioned, yet of a 
seeming length of keel and breadth of beam that set 
my heart beating with new joy, as I wondered if it 
was not the same craft in which the Kinzie family 
359 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


put forth upon the lake the morning of the massacre. 
This seemed very likely, for there could hardly be two 
such boats at hand, where the Indian water-craft were 
slender, fragile canoes, poorly fitted for serious battle 
with lake waves. Doubtless this was the only vessel 
Sau-ga-nash could find suitable for the venture, or he 
would never have chosen it for the use of a single man, 
as it was of a size to require the services of several 
paddles. Yet the thought meant much; for this very 
lack of water-craft was likely to render pursuit by the 
baffled savages impossible, if only once we got fairly 
away from the shore. 

With these reflections driving swiftly through my 
brain, I ran one hand hastily along the thwarts of the 
boat, seeking to discover if paddles had been provided, 
or even a sail of any kind. I touched a coil of rope, a 
rude oar-blade so broad as to seem unwieldy, a tightly 
rolled cloth, — and then my groping fingers rested on 
the oddest-feeling thing that ever a startled man 
touched in the dark. It was God’s mercy I did not 
cry out from the sudden nervous fit that seized me. 
The thing I touched had a round, smooth, creepy feel- 
ing of flesh about it, so that I believed I fingered a 
corpse; until it began to turn slowly under my hand 
like a huge ball, the loose skin of it twitching yet 
revealing no human features to my touch. Saint An- 
drew ! but it frightened me ! I knew not what species 
of strange animal it might prove to be, nor whence its 
360 


A STUMBLE IN THE DARK 


grip or sting might come. Yet the odd feeling of it 
was strangely fascinating, — I could not let it go ; the 
damp flesh-like skin seemed to cling to my fingers in 
a horrible sort of magnetism that bound me prisoner, 
the cold perspiration of terror bursting from every 
pore, even as my other hand, trembling and unnerved, 
sought in my shirt for the knife of Little Sauk. 

As I gripped the weapon, the thing began to 
straighten out, coming up in the quick odd jerks with 
which some snakes uncoil their joints after the tor- 
pidity of winter. My hand, finding naught to grasp, 
slipped from the smooth round ball, and as it fell 
touched what seemed an ear, and then a human nose. 

“ Merciful God ! ’t is a man ! I gasped, in aston- 
ishment and yet relief, as I closed upon his throat, 
madly determined to shut off his wind before he could 
give alarm. 

‘‘ Cuss the luck ! ” he gasped hoarsely, and I let go 
of him, scarcely able to ejaculate in my intense sur- 
prise at that familiar voice. 

“Bums? For Heaven^s sake. Burns! can this 
indeed be you? ” 

For an instant he did not speak, doubtless as 
greatly perplexed as I at the strange situation. 

“ If ye ’re Injun,” he ventured at last gravely, 
“ then I ’m a bloody ghost ; but if by any chance ye ’re 
the lad. Way land, which yer voice sounds like, then it’s 
or Tom Burns as ye ’re a-maulin’ ’round, which seems 
361 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 

ter be yer specialty, — a- jumpin’ on unofFensive settlers 
in the dark, an’ a-chokin’ the life outer them.” 

The growling tone of his voice was growing quer- 
ulous, and it was evident that his temper, never quite 
childlike, had not been greatly improved by his late 
experiences as an Indian captive. 

“ But Bums, old friend ! ” I persisted heartily, my 
courage returned once more, “ it was surely enough to 
stir any man to violence to encounter such a thing in 
the dark! What in Heaven’s name has happened to 
leave you with such a poll? What has become of your 
hair and beard? Is their loss a part of Indian torture?” 

There was a low chuckle in the darkness, as if the 
old rascal were laughing to himself. 

“ Injun nuthin ! ” he returned with vehemence. 
“ Thet ’s jist my way of sarcumventin’ the bloody var- 
mints. I shaved the hull blame thing soon as ever they 
let me loose, an’ then played loony, till thar ain’t no 
Injun ’long the shore as ’d tech me fer all the wampum 
in tl;|£ mini country. ’T ain’t the fust time I saved my 
scalp by some sech dern trick. I tell ye, it ’s easy 
’nough ter beat Injuns if ye only know how. By 
snakes ! I ’m sacred, I am, — specially teched by the 
Great Spirit. I tell ye, ter be real loony is dem nigh 
as good in an Injun camp as ter hev red hair like thet 
thar little Sister Celeste with the Pottawattomies. She 
knows her business, you bet; an’ so does Ol’ Burns 
know hisn ! ” 


362 


A STUMBLE IN THE DARK 


His mention of her name instantly recalled me to 
the little group waiting above us, and doubtless al- 
ready worried at my prolonged absence. 

“ Bums,” I interrupted, ‘‘ this is no time for rem- 
iniscences. I am here seeking some means of es- 
cape out of this place of horror. What were you doing 
down here? ” 

“ Sorter contemplatin’ a sea v’yage,” he said, 
dryly. “ ’T was rec’mended by my doctor fer the 
growth o* my har. So, snoopin’ ’round yere in the 
dark, an’ not over fond o’ Injun com’any, I found this 
yere boat. Jest got in ter see how ’twas fixed, when 
ye jumped down yonder. Reckon I ’d kinder like ter 
wet ’er up an’ see wot she ’s like.” 

“ Good ! so would I. This boat was placed here 
for that very purpose. Nov/ listen. The young woman 
you just mentioned, that Indian missionary with the 
auburn hair, is above yonder, together with another 
young white girl rescued from the massacre, and the 
Frenchman, De Croix. We have come here, on pledge 
of a half-breed chief that this boat would be ready 
for our escape. And we have no time to waste, for 
we may be followed at any moment.” 

“They ain’t seen ye stealin’ outer the camp?” 

“ No, but in doing it I was compelled to kill 
Little Sauk, and the others may find his body at any 
time.” 

For a moment the sly old borderer made no re- 

363 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


sponse, and I knew he was quietly turning over the 
complicated situation in his own mind preparatory 
to intelligent action. I heard him step from the boat 
into the shallow water. 

“All right, lad! I understand,” he said heartily, 
his former indifference vanished. “ Derned if I 
wouldn’t jist as soon leave that Parley- Voo behind; 
but I ’m with ye, an* I reckon Ol’ Burns ’ll give them 
thar redskins another dern good jolt. Take hold here, 
boy, an’ we ’ll run this yere man-o-war outside, where 
we kin ship the rest o’ her crew.” 

The back-water rippling among the old piling was 
shallow, but the boat had little aboard and floated 
free, so that we worked it forward with little difficulty 
until we succeeded in rounding the slight promontory 
and held its bulging sides close against the mud wall. 
Leaving Burns to keep it in place, I crept silently up 
the bank. 

“ Come ! ” I whispered, making my way to the side 
of Mademoiselle more by instinct than sight. “ The 
boat we sought is here and ready ! I have even found 
a boatman to aid us, in the form of Ol’ Burns, who, 
you remember, aided De Croix and me at the time of 
our famous race. Let us waste no more of the night 
here, but do the rest of your talking in greater safety 
on the water.” 

They came with me down to the edge of the 
stream without a word of protest. I had taken Made- 

364 


A STUMBLE IN THE DARK 


moiselle in my arms and lifted her slight form into the 
boat, when she turned suddenly, as if by an unrestrain- 
able impulse, and held out her hands toward the dim 
figure of the silent girl who yet remained motionless 
several feet away. 

“ Marie ! she said, anxiously, “ it may be wrong 
of me to urge it, but I beg you to think again in this 
grave matter. Surely such horrible massacre as you 
have witnessed must absolve you from your vow, and 
yield you freedom to return eastward with those you 
love.” 

The other did not respond to this passionate ap- 
peal, but stood facing us silent as a statue. 

“What mean you. Mademoiselle?” I asked. 
“ Will not this Sister Celeste consent to leave the 
Indians? ” 

“ Nay, she has made a sacred vow of religion 
which binds her to this sacrifice. I implore you, John 
Way land, urge her to go with us ! ^T is but waste of 
her life here. She is an old schoolmate of mine, and 
’twill be hard to leave her alone in this wilderness. 
Captain de Croix, she was far from being a stranger 
to you in those other days at Montreal, — will you 
not add your entreaties to ours?” 

I saw him step forward toward that quiet bowed 
figure, and she straightened perceptibly, even in the 
darkness, as he drew near. His words were in French, 
and spoken so low I missed their meaning ; yet we all 

365 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


heard plainly her calm answer, while marking the 
faltering accents of her lips. 

“ Dear, dear friend ! ’’ and I felt her eyes, blinded 
by tears, were seeking out Mademoiselle through the 
gloom, “ it breaks my heart to answer you nay in this 
hour of sore trial to us both. Yet my vow to God is 
more sacred than any earthly friendship; nor could 
peace ever again abide in my heart were I to break 
the vow so lightly. My duty is here, be it for life or 
death; and here I must abide until the Master sets 
me free.” 

Then, addressing De Croix, she continued sadly, 
“ No, Monsieur, the sense of duty that presses upon 
me and yields me such strength is beyond your com- 
prehension. I bid you go back to that world of light 
and gaiety you have always loved so fondly, and 
think no more of me. To you I am, even as you have 
supposed, a dead woman, yet happier far in this sad 
exile than I ever was in that gilded social cage where 
men laugh while they break the hearts that trust them. 
My Indians are indeed cruel, but there is a deeper 
cruelty than that of bloodshed, and I prefer the open 
savagery of the woods and plains to things I have 
known in city life. So it must be good-bye. Monsieur ! ” 

I was looking directly at her when she uttered 
these last words of dismissal, yet as she ended she 
vanished into the black night beyond, I knew not 
how. A moment before, two figures had been standing 
366 


A STUMBLE IN THE DARK 


there, De Croix’s and hers; and although my eyes 
never once wavered, suddenly there remained but one, 
that of De Croix, peering forward with bent body as if 
he also knew not how or when the girl had vanished 
from his side. I was staring yet, half believing it was 
but a trick of my eyes, when suddenly, like phantoms 
from the mist, a half-dozen naked figures topped the 
high bank before me. It was the work almost of a 
second. I caught Burns’s low cry of warning from 
where he sat watching within the boat. 

“ Run ! ” I shouted to De Croix. ‘‘ To the boat, 
quick ! The savages are upon us ! ” 

He made no motion, and I grasped him. Rarely 
have I laid so heavy a hand on one in friendship; but 
I lifted him from off his feet and flung him bodily into 
the boat’s bottom, scarce waiting till he struck before 
I had my shoulder against the stern to send the craft 
free from shore. I know not what mischance caused 
it, whether I slipped upon a stone or tripped over a 
hidden root; but as I shoved the boat far out into the 
dark current of the river, instead of springing after it, 
as I had meant to do, I toppled and plunged headlong 
down at the edge of the stream. 


367 


CHAPTER XXXV 


THE BATTLE ON THE SHORE 



HAT followed was long a 
famous story on the border, 
and I have even read it writ- 
ten out most carefully in 
books purporting to tell the 
history of those troublous 
times. None of them have 
it as I recall the details of the 
incident, although it all oc- 
curred so rapidly that I myself can hardly tell just how 
Twas done. 

I know that I scrambled again to my knees, rest- 
ing half in the water, my purpose being to fling myself 
into the river in an effort to regain the boat. But it 
was already out of sight in the dense gloom, while not 
the slightest sound reached me for guidance. Beyond 
this, I had no time for much save action. Above me, 
upon the high bank not three yards away, I saw several 
Indian forms peering over; and then others, three or 
four, I am uncertain which, sprang lightly down within 
a yard of where I crouched in waiting. 

368 



THE BATTLE ON THE SHORE 


My father gave me a frontier maxim once, which 
ran, “ If you must fight, strike first, and strike hard.” 
The words flashed in my memory, and I put them to 
the test straightway. These prowling savages were 
apparently unaware of my predicament; their sole 
thought was with the boat floating away lakeward 
down the stream. At all cost, they must be blocked 
in any purpose of pursuit. These were the thoughts 
that darted through my brain like fire through stubble. 
How many opposed me, how desperate would be the 
struggle, were matters of which I did not stop to think. 
I could at least busy them until the fugitives were 
safe; after that, it was God’s affair, and theirs. My 
rifle was wet and useless from my recent tumble ; but 
before the group at the water’s edge even saw me I 
was fairly upon them, striking fiercely with my gun- 
stock, and two savages went down, shrieking from 
pain and surprise, before so much as a return blow 
reached me. 

It was not a noisy battle ; from the outset it was 
too fierce and rapid for any waste of breath. Never 
did I need my strength of body more, nor did the long 
training of my father come in better play. I made that 
long rifle-barrel both club and sword, knife and axe 
in one, striking, thrusting, clubbing, in the mad fury 
with which desperation bids a man battle for his life. 
I had no thought to live, but was determined that if 
I went down to earth many a painted savage should 
24 369 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


lie there with me. The enshrouding darkness proved 
a friendly help; for as I backed in closer against the 
bank, I gained a fair view of my opponents, while 
keeping myself more hidden. Again and again they 
charged upon me, joined now by the others from 
above ; but the circling iron I swung with tireless arms 
formed a dead-line no leaping Indian burst through 
alive. 

Once a hurtling tomahawk half buried itself in my 
shoulder; a long knife, thrown by a practised hand, 
pierced the muscles of my thigh, and stuck there quiv- 
ering, till I struck it loose ; and twice they fired at me, 
the second shot tearing the flesh of my side, searing it 
like fire. Yet I scarcely realized I was touched, so 
fiercely was the battle-blood now coursing through 
my veins, so intense the joy with which I crushed 
them back. I grew delirious, feeling the rage to slay 
sweep over me as never before, giving me the crazed 
strength of a dozen men, until I lost all sense of de- 
fensive action, and sprang forth into their midst as 
might an avenging thunderbolt from the black sky. 
Never had I swung flail in peaceful border contest as 
I did that murderous iron bar in the dark of the river- 
shore, driving them back foot by foot against the high 
bank which held them helpless victims of my wrath. 
I struck again and again, my teeth set together in 
bulldog tenacity, my breath coming in gasps, the 
streaming blood from a deep cut over my eyes half 

370 


THE BATTLE ON THE SHORE 


blinding me, yet guided by fierce instinct to fi.nd and 
smite my foes. I trod on limp bodies, on writhing 
forms, and felt my weapon clash against iron rifle 
barrels and clang upon uplifted steel; but nothing 
stopped me, — no cry of terror, no plea for mercy, no 
clutching hand, no deadly numbing blow. 

God knows the story of that fight, — how long it 
lasted, by what miracle ’twas won. To me it is — 
and was — little more than a dim haze of strange 
leaping figures, of fierce dark faces, of maddened cries 
of hate, of uplifted hands, of dull-clashing weapons. 
I seemed to see it all through a red fog whence the 
blood dripped, and I lost consciousness of everything 
save my unswerving duty to strike hard imtil I fell. 
At last out from the maelstrom of that wild melee but 
a single warrior seemed to face me ; and some instinct 
of the fight caused me to draw back a pace and wipe 
the obscuring blood away, that I might see him better. 
It came to me that this was to be the end, — the final 
duel which was to decide that midnight battle. He and 
I were there alone ; and the stars bursting through the 
clouds gave me faint view of him, and of those dark, 
silent forms that lined the shore where they had 
fallen. 

A chief, a Pottawattomie, — this much I knew 
even in that hasty shrouded glance. Writers of his- 
tory affirm my opponent was Peesotum, the same 
fierce warrior whose cruel hand slew the brave Captain 

371 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


Wells and wrenched his still beating heart from out 
the mutilated body. All I realized then were his 
broad sinewy shoulders, his naked brawny body, his 
eyes ablaze with malignant hate. He was the first to 
close, his wild cry for vengeance piercing the still 
night ; and before I knew it, the maddened savage was 
within the guard of my rifle-barrel, and we were locked 
in the stern grapple of death. 

It was knife to knife, our blades gleaming dull in 
the dim light of the stars, each man gripping the up- 
lifted wrist of the other, putting forth each last reserve 
of strength, each cunning trick of fence, to break free 
and strike the ending blow. Back and forth we strove, 
straining like two wild animals, our moccasined feet 
slipping on the wet earth, our muscles strained, and 
sinews cracking with intensity of effort, our breath 
coming in labored gasps, our bodies tense as bow- 
strings. Such merciless strain could not endure for- 
ever, and, strong as I was in those young days, the 
savage was far stronger and less exhausted by the 
struggle, so that inch by inch he pressed me backward, 
battling like a demon, until I could see the cruel gleam 
of his eyes as I gave slowly down. It was God who 
saved me, for as I fell I struck the sharp shelving of 
the bank, and the quick stoppage swung the savage 
to one side and below me, so that, even as he gave vent 
to an exulting yell of triumph, wrenching his hand 
loose from my weakening clasp to strike the death- 
372 


THE BATTLE ON THE SHORE 


blow, I whirled and forced him downward, his face 
buried in the stream. 

Those who write history say the rescuing warriors 
discovered him alive. I know not; but this I swear, 
— I held him there until every struggle ceased, until 
answering yells from the westward told me others 
were already close at hand, and then, breathless and 
trembling from the struggle, blinded by blood and 
faint from wounds, I sprang forward into the night- 
shadows, dimly conscious that my sole hope for escape 
lay lakeward. I ran but feebly at first, skirting the 
partially destroyed stockade of the old Fort, with its 
litter of debris, and stumbling constantly in the dark- 
ness over the obstructions that lined the river bank. 
As my breath returned, and I somewhat cleared my 
eyes of blood, I saw better; and at last ran from the 
darker soil on to the white sand of the beach. 

There were now many stars in the sky, with the 
moon struggling feebly to break through the haze; 
but to my anxious glance nothing was visible upon the 
water. Surely the boat must have floated to the river- 
mouth by this time, — surely the force of the current 
would have accomplished that; nor was it likely that 
or Burns would draw far away from shore until 
assured of my fate. The wild shouting told me that 
savages from the camp had already found their dead. 
A moment more would place them on my trail, hot 
for revenge; and there was no course left me but to 
373 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


take the water, before their keen eyes found me out. 
I waded out, seeking thus to get far enough from shore 
to baffle their search, when suddenly a quick spark of 
light winked from the blackness in front of me. Surely 
it could be nothing less than a signal, the swift stroke 
of flint on steel, — no doubt in the faint hope it would 
prove a beacon to me in my need. 

Desperate as the chance v/as, it was still a chance, 
and to my mind the only one. I glanced behind; a 
dim figure or two dotted the white sand, and my heart 
lifted a silent prayer to God for guidance. A second 
later I was beyond my depth, breasting the unknown 
waters, swimming steadily toward the place where 
that mysterious spark had glimmered. Once again it 
flashed, the barest glimpse of light through the intense 
gloom ; and I pressed on with new vigor, certain now it 
was a real beacon. But I was so weakened by wounds 
and spent from exertion, and such desperate work is 
swimming fully clad, that my progress proved slow; 
and twice I was compelled to pause, paddling slowly 
on my back, in the buffeting of the waves, in order 
to gain strength to renew the struggle. I almost lost 
heart in the black loneliness, as the swirling water 
swept me back and confused me with its ever-tossing 
motion. Once I went down from sheer weakness, 
choking in a cloud of spray that swept my face; and 
doubtless I should have let the struggle end in despair 
even then, had not the spark leaped up once more 
374 


THE BATTLE ON THE SHORE 


through the deep haze; and this time so close was it 
that my ears caught the clashing of the flint and steel. 

With the new hope of life thus given me, I pushed 
grimly forward, using the silent Indian stroke that 
never tires, my eyes at the surface level where the 
light of the moon glimmered feebly. At last I saw it, 
— the black lumpy shadow of the boat. I must have 
splashed a little in my weakness and excitement, for 
I plainly perceived the figure of a man hastily leap to 
his feet, with an oar-blade uplifted threateningly above 
his head. 

“ Don’t strike. Burns ! ” I managed to cry aloud. 
‘‘ It ’s Wayland.” 

The next moment, with scarce so much as a breath 
remaining in my battered body, I laid hand upon the 
boat’s side, and clung there panting and well-nigh 
spent. I felt his hands pressed under my arms, and 
then, -with the exercise of his great strength, he drew 
me steadily up, inch by inch, until I topped the rail, 
and fell forward into the bottom of the boat. An 
instant I rested thus, with tightly closed eyes, my head 
reeling, my breath coming in sobs of pain, every muscle 
of my strained body throbbing in misery. Scarcely 
conscious of what was being done about me, I could 
still realize that arms touched my neck, that my head 
was gently lifted to a softer resting-place, and that a 
hand, strangely tender, brushed back from my fore- 
head the wet tangled hair. The touch was thrilling; 
375 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


and I unclosed my wearied eyes, looking up into the 
sympathetic face of Mademoiselle. The faint moonlight 
rested upon it gently, touching her crown of hair with 
silver; and within the dark depths of her eyes I read 
clearly the message I had waited for so long. 

“ Toinette ! ” I murmured, half conscious. 

She bowed her head above me, and I felt a sudden 
plash of tears that could not be restrained. 

“ Do not try to speak now, John! ’’ she whispered 
softly, her finger at my lips. “ I can only thank the 
good God who has brought you back to me.” 

I made no effort to say more; I could only lie 
in silence and gaze up at her, pressing the hands 
resting so frankly within my own. Indeed, we needed 
no words in that hour; our hearts had spoken, and 
thenceforward we were one. 

Suddenly the heavy boat lurched beneath us, to 
some quick impetus that sent a shudder through every 
inch of it; and I heard a heavy splash alongside, 
which instantly brought me upright, anxiously grasp- 
ing the rail. 

“ May Heaven help him ! ” cried Burns excitedly, 
and pointing out at the black waters. “ The French- 
man has gone overboard I ” 

“ Overboard? ” I echoed, striving to regain my 
feet. ‘‘Did he fall?” 

“ Fall? No; it was a dive off the back seat here. 
Save me! but he went into it like a gull.” 

376 


THE BATTLE ON THE SHORE 

We sought for him long and vainly, peering over 
those dark swirling waters, calling his name aloud, and 
striking flint on steel in hope to guide him by the 
spark. Nothing appeared along the rolling surface, no 
answering cry came from the black void; De Croix 
had disappeared into the depths, as desperate men go 
down to death. Suddenly, as I leaned over, sick at 
heart, peering into the dimness, Toinette drew near 
and touched me softly. 

** Let us not mourn,** she said, in strange quiet- 
ness. “No doubt *t is better so.** 

“ How? ** I questioned, shocked at her seemingly 
heartless words. “ Surely you cannot rejoice at such 
a loss?** 

“ *T is not a loss,** she answered firmly, and the 
soft moon-rays were white upon her face. “ He has 
only gone back to her we left behind; it was the 
beckoning hand of love that called him through the 
waters. Now it is only ours to pray that he may 
find her.** 


377 


CHAPTER XXXVI 


IN THE NEW GRAY DAWN 



Y anxious glance wandered 
from the face I so dearly 
loved, out where those dark 
restless waters merged into 
the brooding mystery of the 
black night. How unspeak- 
ably dreary, lonely, hopeless 
it all was! Into what tragic 
unknown fate had this earli- 
est comrade of my manhood been remorselessly swept? 
Was all indeed well with him? or had the Nemesis of 
a wrong once done dealt its fatal stroke at last? The 
voices of the night were silent; the chambers of the 
great tossing sea hid their secret well. Had this gal- 
lant and reckless young soldier of France, this petted 
courtier of the gayest court in Europe, whose very 
name and rank I knew not, succeeded in his desperate 
deed? Had he reached yonder blood-stained shore, 
lined with infuriated savages, and found safe passage 
through them to the side of the woman he had once 
called wife, and then forgotten? Or had he found, 

378 


IN THE NEW GRAY DAWN 


instead, the solemn peace of death amid the swirling 
waters of this vast inland sea, so many leagues to the 
westward of that sunny land he loved? These were 
the thoughts that shook me, as I leaned out above the 
rail, her dear hand always on my shoulder. Never 
have the circling years found voice, nor the redeemed 
wilderness made answer. 

“ Possibly it might be done,” I admitted slowly. 
“ ’T is scarce farther than I swam just now, and he is 
neither weary nor wounded.” 

We all realized it was a useless peril to re- 
main there longer, and I sat at the helm and waffched, 
while Burns, who developed considerable knowledge 
in such matters, fitted the heavy sail in place. With 
the North Star over the water for our guidance, I 
headed the blunt nose of the boat due eastward into 
the untracked waters. 

I confess that my memory was still lingering upon 
De Croix, and my eyes turned often enough along our 
foam-flecked wake in vague wonderment at his fate. 
It was Mademoiselle who laid hand softly on my knee 
at last, and aroused my attention to her. 

“ Why did you tell Sister Celeste that you came to 
Dearborn seeking Elsa Matherson? ” she questioned, 
her clear eyes intently reading my face. 

“ I had even forgotten that I mentioned it,” I 
answered, surprised at this query at such a time. “ But 
it is strictly true. While upon his death-bed Elsa 
379 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


Matherson’s father wrote to mine, — they were old 
comrades in the great war, — and I was sent hither 
to bring the orphan girl eastward. I sought her as 
a brother might seek a sister he had never seen. 
Mademoiselle; yet have failed most miserably in my 
mission.” 

“ How failed? ” 

“ In that I have found no trace of the girl, and 
beyond doubt she perished in the massacre. I know 
not how, but I have been strangely baffled and misled 
from the first in my search for her, and it was all to 
no purpose.” 

For the first time since I had fallen dripping into 
the boat, a slight smile was visible in the dark eyes 
fronting me. 

“ Why hid you from me with such care the object 
of your search? ” 

“ I hid nothing. Mademoiselle. We spoke to- 
gether about it often.” 

“ Ay, indeed you told me you sought a young 
girl, and your words led me to think at first it must 
be Josette, and later still the Indian missionary. But 
not once did you breathe the name of the girl in my 
ears. The dwellers at Dearborn were neither so many 
nor so strange to me that I could not have aided you in 
your search.” 

‘‘You knew this Elsa Matherson?” 

“ I am not so sure of that. Master Wayland,” she 
380 


IN THE NEW GRAY DAWN 


returned gravely, her eyes wandering into the night. 
“ Once I thought I did, but she has changed so greatly 
in the last few days that I am hardly sure. A young 
girl’s life is often filled with mystery, and there are 
happenings that turn girlhood to womanhood in a 
single hour. Love has power to change the nature as 
by magic, and sorrow also has a like rare gift. Do you 
still greatly wish to find this Elsa Matherson? ” 

‘‘To find her?” and I gazed about me incredu- 
lously into those flitting shadows where the waves 
raced by. “Ay, for I have dreamed of her as of a 
lost sister, and it will sadly grieve those at home to 
have me return thus empty-handed. Yet the thought 
is foolishness. Mademoiselle, and I understand not why 
you should mock me so.” 

She drew closer, in the gentle caressing way she 
had, and found my disengaged hand, her sweet face 
held upward so that I could mark every changing 
expression. 

“ Never in my useless life was I farther removed 
from any spirit of mockery,” she insisted, soberly; 
“ for never before have I seen the presence of God so 
clearly manifest in His mysterious guidance of men. 
You, who sought after poor Elsa Matherson in this 
wilderness, looking perchance for a helpless orphan 
child, have been led to pluck me in safety out from 
savage hands, and yet never once dreamed that in 
doing so you only fulfilled your earlier mission.” 

381 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


I stared at her, grasping with difficulty the full 
significance of her speech. 

‘‘Your words puzzle me.” 

“ Nay, they need not,” and I caught the sud- 
den glitter of tears on her lashes ; “ for I am Elsa 
Matherson.” 

“You? you? ” and I crushed her soft hand within 
my fingers, as I peered forward at the quickly lowered 
face. “ Why, you are French, Mademoiselle, and of 
a different name ! ” 

She glanced up now into my puzzled face, a bit 
shyly, yet with some of the old roguishness visible in 
her eyes. 

“ My mother was indeed French, but my father 
was an American soldier,” she said rapidly, as if eager 
to have the explanation ended. “ You never asked my 
name, save that one night when we first met amid the 
sand, and then I gave you only that by which I have 
been most widely known. None except my father ever 
called me Elsa; to all others I was always Toinette. 
But I am Roger Matherson’s only child.” 

It was clear enough now, and the deception had 
been entirely my own, rendered possible by strange 
chances of omission, by rare negligence of speech — 
aided by my earlier impression that she whom I sought 
was a mere child. 

“ And ’t was Sister Celeste who told you whom I 
sought? ” I asked, for lack of courage to say more. 

382 


IN THE NEW GRAY DAWN 


“Yes, to-night, while we waited for you beside 
the ruins of the old factory. Oh, how far away it 
all seems now ! ” and she pointed backward across the 
waters. “ Poor, poor girl ! Poor Captain de Croix ! 
Oh, it is all so sad, so unutterably sad to me ! I knew 
them both so well. Monsieur,” and she rested her 
bowed head upon one hand, staring out into the night, 
and speaking almost as if to herself alone; “yet I 
never dreamed that he was a nobleman of France, or 
that he had married Marie Faneuf. She was so sweet 
a girl then, — and now to be buried alive in that 
wilderness ! Think you that he truly loved her? ” 

“ I almost have faith that he did. Mademoiselle,” 
I answered gravely. “He was greatly changed from 
his first sight of her face, though he was a difficult 
man to gauge in such matters. There was a time when 
I believed him in love with you.” 

She tossed her head. 

“ Nay,” she answered, “ he merely thought he was, 
because he found me hard to understand and difficult 
of conquest ; but ’t was little more than his own vanity 
that drew him hither. I trust it may be the deeper 
feeling that has taken him back now in face of death 
to Marie.” 

“You have indeed proved hard to understand by 
more than one,” I ventured, for in spite of her gracious- 
ness the old wound rankled. “ It has puzzled me much 
to understand how you so gaily sent me forth to a 

383 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


mission that might mean death, to save this Captain 
de Croix/’ 

It was a foolish speech, and she met it bravely, 
with heightened color and a flash of dark eyes. 

“ ’T was no more than the sudden whim of a girl,” 
she answered quickly, “ and regretted before you were 
out of sight. Nor did I dream you would meet my 
conditions by such a sacrifice.” 

“ You showed small interest as you stood on the 
stockade when we went forth ! ” 

** You mean when Captain de Croix and I leaned 
above the eastern palisades? ” 

‘‘ Ay, not once did your eyes wander to mark our 
progress.” 

Her eyes were smiling now, and her face archly 
uplifted. 

“ Indeed, Master Wayland, little you know of the 
struggles of my heart during that hour. Nor will I 
tell you; for the secrets of a girl must be her own. 
But I marked each step you took onward toward the 
Indian camp, until the night hid you, — the night, or 
else the gathering tears in my eyes.” 

The sudden yawing of the boat before a gust of 
wind drew my thought elsewhere, and kept back the 
words ready upon my tongue. When once more I had 
my bearings and had turned back the plunging bow, 
she sat silent, deep in thought that I hesitated to 
disturb. Soon I noted her head droop slightly to the 
increased movement of the boat. 

384 


IN THE NEW GRAY DAWN 


“You are worn out!** I said tenderly. “Lean 
here against me, and sleep.** 

“ Indeed, I feel most weary,** was her drowsy 
reply. “ Yes, I will rest for a few moments.*’ 

How clear remains the memory of those hours, 
while I sat watchful of the helm, her head resting 
peacefully on my lap, and all about us those lonely 
tossing waters! What a mere chip was our boat in 
the midst of that desolate sea; how dark and dreary 
the changeless night shadows! Over and over again 
I pictured the details of each scene I have here set 
forth so poorly, to dream at the end of a final home- 
coming which should not be alone. It was with heart 
thankful to God, that I watched the slow stealing 
upward of the gray dawn as the early rays of light 
crept toward us across the heaving of the waters. It 
was typical of all I had hoped, — this, and the black 
shadows fleeing away into the west. Brighter and 
brighter grew the crimsoning sky over the boat*s bow, 
where Bums lay sleeping, imtil my eyes could distin- 
guish a far-off shore-line heavily crowned with trees. 
I thought to rouse her to the glorious sight ; but even 
as I glanced downward into the fair young face, her 
dark eyes opened in instant smile of greeting. 

“*Tis the morning,** she said gladly, “and that 
dark, dark night has passed away.** 

“ For ever. Mademoiselle ; and there is even a land 
of promise to be seen out yonder ! ** 

^5 385 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


She sat up quickly, shading her eyes with her 
hand as she gazed with eagerness toward where I 
pointed. 

“Think you we shall find shelter and friends 
there? ” 

“The half-breed chief said there were yet white 
settlers upon the Saint Joseph, Mademoiselle ; and the 
mouth of that river should be easily found.” 

She turned toward me, a slight frown darkening 
her face. 

“ I wish you would not call me Mademoiselle,” 
she said slowly. “It is as if we were still mere 
strangers; and you said Elsa Matherson was to be 
as your sister.” 

I bent over her suddenly, all my repressed love 
glowing in my face. 

“ Toinette ! ” I whispered passionately, “ 1 would 
call you by a dearer name than that, — by the dearest 
of all dear names if I might, for you have won my 
heart in the wilderness.” 

For a single instant she glanced shyly up into my 
face, her own crimson at my sudden ardor. Her eyes 
drooped and hid themselves behind their long lashes. 

“ Those who sent you forth seeking a sister might 
not thus wish to welcome Elsa Matherson,” she said 
softly. 

“ ’T is a venture I most gladly make,” I insisted, 
“ and would seal it with a kiss.” 

386 


IN THE NEW GRAY DAWN 


Her eyes flashed up at me, full of sudden merri- 
ment. 

“ The unpaid wager leaves me helpless to resist, 
Monsieur.” 

The soft haze of Indian summer rested over the 
valley of the Maumee. We rode slowly along the 
narrow winding trail that hugged the river bank; for 
our journey had been a long one, and the horses were 
wearied. Burns was riding just in advance of Toinette 
and me, his cap pulled low over his eyes, his new 
grov/th of hair standing out stiff and black beneath its 
covering. Once he twisted his seamed face about in 
time to catch us smiling at his odd figure, and growled 
to himself as he kicked at his horse’s flanks. 

It was thus we rounded the bend and saw before 
us the little clearing with the cabin in the centre of its 
green heart. At sight of it my eyes grew moist and I 
rested my fingers gently upon the white hand that lay 
against her saddle-pommel. 

‘‘ Fear not, dear heart ! ” I whispered tenderly. 
“ It is home for both alike, and the welcome of love 
awaits you as well as me.” 

She glanced up at me, half shyly as in the old way, 
and there was a mist of tears clinging to the long 
lashes. 

“ Those who love you, John, I will love,” she said 
solemnly. 


387 


WHEN WILDERNESS WAS KING 


It was Rover who saw us first, and came charg- 
ing forth with savage growl and ruffled fur, until he 
scented me, and changed his fierceness into barks of 
frantic welcome. Then it was I saw them, even as 
when I last rode forth, my father seated in his great 
splint chair, my mother with her arm along the carved 
back, one hand shading her eyes as she watched our 
coming. 

This is not a memory to be written about for 
stranger eyes to read, but as I turned from them after 
that first greeting, their glances were upon her who 
stood waiting beside me, so sweet and pure in her 
young womanhood. 

“ And this, my son? ” questioned my father kindly. 
“We would bid her welcome also; yet surely she 
cannot be that little child for whose sake we sent you 
forth? ” 

I took her by the hand as we faced them. 

“ You sent me in search of one whom you would 
receive even as your own child,” I answered simply. 
“ This is Roger Matherson’s daughter, and the dear 
wife of your son.” 

What need have I to dwell upon the love that bade 
her welcome? And so it was that out of all the suffer- 
ing and danger, — forth from the valley of the shadow 
of death, — Toinette and I came home. 


THE END 


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